Berlinale filmmakers offer solutions to the problem

As ever the Berlin Film Festival is offering viewers a window into stories from across the world but what to do when filmmakers face obstacles in working in the countries that their stories come from?

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At this year's edition of the festival several productions have found creative solutions to the problem. On Thursday the festival opened with a rare offering from Afghan cinema: “No Good Men”, the third feature-length film from director Shahrbanoo Sadat. It tells the story of a young reporter working in Kabul — played by Sadat herself — rethinking her scepticism towards men when she strikes up a relationship with a male coworker.

Sadat, who herself has been living in Germany since Taliban authorities retook power in 2021, said that trawling through locations outside Afghanistan was something she had been used to for a long time. For “No Good Men,” she considered Tajikistan, Jordan and Greece to stand in for Afghanistan.