The Film | Between Change, Hope and Collapse

Between Change, Hope, and Collapse – Afghanistan’s Media Through Two Decades (2001–2021)

The Story: Between Change, Hope, and Collapse tells the story of Afghanistan’s media over two tumultuous decades. In these years, the country emerged as a rare global example of transformation. Its media played a central role in that change. From its rapid rise after 2001 to a period of unprecedented openness and its abrupt collapse in 2021, this development closely mirrored Afghanistan’s own volatile path. Too often, global discussions about this period have unfolded without Afghanistan voices, reducing complex realities to external interpretations. This documentary offers an insider’s view that captures the lived experience directly from those who lived it and explores the lessons it holds for Afghanistan and other nations undergoing profound change.

This 60-minute documentary takes viewers on a journey from the hopeful beginnings in 2001 to the collapse in 2021, tracing the evolution of a media landscape shaped by both promise and fragility. Emerging from decades of conflict, the early years of Afghanistan’s media were marked by unprecedented openness. Fueled by international aid and ambitious capacity-building initiatives, the media sector underwent significant professionalization and innovation, creating new public spheres that connected local realities with global narratives. Despite its rapid growth, inherent vulnerabilities persisted, and political upheavals soon unraveled many of these achievements, revealing the fragile foundations of media development in unstable contexts.

Through a blend of rigorous research, intimate first-hand accounts, and artistic storytelling, the film explores this dynamic interplay of progress and setback. It shows how media not only documented but actively shaped Afghanistan’s state-building and evolving identity. At the same time, the film raises urgent questions about the sustainability of international support in fragile environments and highlights the consequences that sudden upheavals have on these foundations. The documentary looks back on twenty years of international engagement and seeks to spark a shift in thinking about development cooperation in Afghanistan and beyond. Afghanistan’s experience serves both as a cautionary example and a valuable case study for other countries undergoing their own transitions.

Making of the Film

Rooted in science, enriched by journalism, and shaped through art, this film is the result of close Co-Creation between researchers, journalists, and media artists. Developed at Leipzig University, it combines a communication research framework with insights from journalists who worked in Afghanistan. Building on these accounts, creative professionals crafted a visual narrative that fuses factual evidence with human experience, enriched by archival footage to form a rich, multi layered story. The documentary offers perspectives beyond conventional academic analyses, embodying innovative Science Communication and enriched by contributions from politicians, activists and media experts from Germany.

The film emerged from a research project at the Research Centre for Development Communication – Communication for Social Change (EC4SC), funded by the Volkswagen Stiftung. The project supports six persecuted Afghanistan scholars from diverse academic fields. Drawing on their expertise and EC4SC’s extensive global network in participatory communication research, it provides a strong foundation for exploring the complex media development in Afghanistan.

The result is a documentary that sparks dialogue and inspires a diverse audience to reflect on the challenges facing Afghanistan and other fragile states today.