The documentary “Where Are My Children?”

image: ACNUR

Portraying the suffering and resistance of Khadija Amin, screened at the European Film Festival in Spain

The documentary “Where Are My Children?”, which tells the story of the life of Khadija Amin, an Afghan journalist residing in Spain, was screened at the twenty-second edition of the Seville European Film Festival in Spain.

This two-part documentary, directed by Vanessa Hernández Bourke and Pablo Deus Bouzón, depicts one of the most painful narratives of a mother separated from her children following the fall of Afghanistan. Khadija Amin, a member of the board of Reporters Without Borders in Spain, is the central figure and narrator of the film.

Source: Festival de Sevilla

According to the production team, the documentary is the result of three years of research and filming, following Khadija’s difficult journey of struggle. After the fall of Kabul in 2021, she sought asylum in Spain, yet in Afghanistan’s official records she is registered as “deceased”. During this period, her husband took their three children back to Afghanistan and prevented any contact between them for months.

The documentary recounts that the absence of official documents and complex legal procedures have prevented Khadija from proving that she is the children’s legal mother, a situation she describes as “the most painful experience of her life”.

Festival organisers described the screening of the documentary in Seville as “an important step in amplifying the voices of Afghan women”.

Beyond the personal account of an Afghan mother, the documentary also provides international audiences with a clear depiction of the suffering, resilience and insecurity faced by women in Afghanistan.