filmanalysispolitics

From Kabul to Berlin: How ‘No Good Men’ Captures a Lost Democratic Era

nnewsdaily

2026-01-30 12:00:00

9 min read

How Shahrbanoo Sadat’s Kabul newsroom rom‑com at Berlinale reframes press freedom, representation, and creator safety after 2021.

Why a Kabul newsroom at Berlinale matters now — and why you should care

Information overload and skepticism make it hard to know which cultural moments matter. For audiences who want reliable context, Shahrbanoo Sadat’s No Good Men offers more than a romantic comedy: it’s a deliberate archival act, a reconstruction of a pre‑2021 Kabul newsroom that foregrounds questions of representation, press freedom, and the safety of creators in the Taliban aftermath. The film’s selection to open the 2026 Berlinale is a signal — culturally and politically — that international cinema is returning to Afghanistan’s recent, democratic era in ways that demand scrutiny and action.

Top line: What No Good Men brings to the conversation

At the top: No Good Men is both a creative work and a cultural artifact. Announced as the Berlinale Special Gala opener on Feb. 12, 2026, the film reconstructs an urban newsroom in Kabul before the Taliban’s return in 2021. That choice transforms a festival spotlight into a statement about a lost public sphere — a newsroom as a civic space where debate, satire, and gossip once circulated freely. For diasporic communities and international audiences alike, the film reframes memory and accountability at a moment when artistic and press freedoms in Afghanistan remain fragile.

Why the setting is strategic

Newsrooms serve as a concentrated site of social memory. By setting a romantic comedy in a newsroom, Sadat accomplishes several things at once:

She preserves quotidian glimpses of a democratic public sphere that has since been disrupted.
She centers media workers — a group targeted, marginalized, or forced into exile after 2021 — as protagonists, not background figures.
She uses genre (romcom) to make political memory accessible and emotionally resonant without didacticism.

Context: Press freedom and the Taliban aftermath

After the Taliban takeover in August 2021, international watchdogs and journalists documented an immediate and severe squeeze on press freedoms in Afghanistan. Many independent outlets closed or moved operations overseas, and journalists faced threats, arrests, or the need to flee. In that environment, films that reconstruct earlier press ecologies become acts of cultural preservation as much as storytelling.

By 2026, festivals and broadcasters have increasingly prioritized films from conflict zones — not merely as human‑interest curiosities but as urgent documents mapping lost institutions and civic practices. The Berlinale’s decision to open with Sadat’s work fits into a broader late‑2025 and early‑2026 trend: major festivals programming films that interrogate information ecosystems under threat, from newsroom closures to digital censorship.

Representation: Who gets to tell Afghan stories?

Representation is layered here: there’s the on‑screen depiction of Kabul’s professional class in the democratic era, and there’s the off‑screen reality of who can safely make and circulate those depictions. Shahrbanoo Sadat, an Afghan director working with German partners, occupies a cross‑border positionality that has enabled her projects to reach international stages. But many Afghan filmmakers and journalists still work from exile or under existential risk.

Key representational questions the film raises:

Whose memories of pre‑2021 Kabul are being archived and who is absent?
How are gender, class, and urban life depicted against the backdrop of later political rupture?
What responsibility do international festivals have in amplifying — and protecting — creators whose work critiques or recalls contested eras?

Safety for creators: Lessons from the field

Creating and distributing Afghan film content after 2021 carries multi‑layered risks. For many journalists and filmmakers, threats are not hypothetical — they shape where and how stories are told. Below are pragmatic strategies for creators, festivals, and funders to reduce harm while maximizing impact.

For filmmakers and journalists (practical, actionable steps)

Digital hygiene: Use encrypted messaging (Signal), secure email (PGP), and compartmentalized cloud storage with two‑factor authentication. Regularly update device OS and back up to encrypted drives stored offline.
Metadata stripping: Before sharing drafts, remove identifiable metadata from video and image files. Use trusted tools to scrub location and creator data.
Legal preparedness: Develop contingency plans with pro bono legal partners versed in asylum, intellectual property, and media law. Keep copies of contracts and festival paperwork stored securely and accessible to a trusted network.
Safety net mapping: Create a matrix of contacts — trusted fixers, embassy liaisons, NGO case workers, festival safety officers — and rehearse emergency steps for evacuation or relocation.
Psychological support: Longitudinal trauma is common in conflict‑zone creators. Seek culturally competent mental‑health resources in the diaspora or through festival care programs.

For festivals and distributors

Confidentiality protocols: Offer anonymous submission pathways and ability for filmmakers to decline press contact or to use a protective pseudonym when necessary.
Resettlement support: Partner with NGOs and government cultural programs to provide temporary visas, humanitarian corridors, and quiet residencies for at‑risk artists.
Secure screenings: For films that may put collaborators at risk, provide secure, limited‑access screenings and consider geo‑blocking or time‑limited distribution windows to control exposure.
Fair crediting: Ensure that behind‑the‑camera contributors are credited in ways that do not expose them to danger; allow redaction where necessary.

International reception at Berlinale: What to expect

Film festival audiences are increasingly literate about geopolitical nuance. Berlinale’s decision to open with an Afghan film is a curatorial statement that does three things:

Signals festival solidarity with embattled press and artistic communities.
Centers a narrative of democratic memory at a time when cultural diplomacy is contested.
Offers international cinema a humanized, localized entry point into broader policy debates about the Taliban aftermath and media freedoms.

Expect several dynamics at the Berlinale showing:

High press interest focused less on plot than on context — who funded the film, where the cast and crew are today, and what the screening means politically.
Robust Q&A sessions about press freedom, with audiences pressing for follow‑ups on safety for Afghan journalists and filmmakers.
Programming spillover: panels, workshops, and fundraisers at the festival to connect filmmakers with legal and resettlement resources.

Why the timing matters in 2026

By early 2026, cultural institutions have sharpened strategies for supporting artists from high‑risk countries. European funding mechanisms expanded after 2024 and 2025 pressure campaigns to create emergency grants and residencies. Berlinale’s platform can therefore do immediate, tangible work — not just symbolic praise. When a high‑profile festival opens with an Afghan film, it can trigger funding calls, diplomatic attention, and press campaigns that materially help creators still in precarious positions.

Representation in practice: Reading the newsroom

No Good Men’s newsroom is more than set dressing. It’s a microcosm where gender roles, class interactions, and professional ethics play out. A few analytical lenses to keep in mind when watching or discussing the film:

Gender in the newsroom: How are women journalists portrayed — as token voices or as decision‑makers? Given the rollback of women’s rights under the Taliban, these portrayals are politically resonant.
Language and code‑switching: Does the film represent Dari, Pashto, and English multilingualism authentically? Language choice signals audience and power relations.
Class and urbanism: A pre‑2021 Kabul newsroom is likely to reflect urban cosmopolitanism that was marginal in rural zones; analyzing who’s included and who’s absent matters.

What this moment teaches international cinema

There are broader lessons for film communities worldwide. First, cinematic reconstructions can act as civic testimony. Second, festivals are not neutral exhibition sites — they are actors in cultural policy and humanitarian responses. Third, audience behavior matters. Watching, amplifying, and financially supporting films from conflict zones can translate into concrete resources for creators.

Actionable steps for audiences and industry

Watch intentionally: Attend screenings (in person or virtual), and choose platform premieres that support filmmakers with fair revenue shares.
Amplify responsibly: Share festival coverage that includes context on creator safety and ways to help, not only aesthetic praise.
Donate to artist funds: Support organizations and emergency funds that provide legal aid, relocation, and healthcare to at‑risk journalists and filmmakers.
Lobby cultural agencies: Citizens can press local cultural ministries to create fast‑track visa schemes for artists under threat.

Concerns and criticisms to watch for

Even as No Good Men garners praise, several contestations are likely to surface:

Sanitization: Critics may argue a rom‑com framing risks softening systemic violence or erasure of certain groups’ experiences.
Gatekeeping: Festivals might be accused of selecting a small number of palatable Afghan stories while ignoring less marketable, but equally urgent, narratives.
Tokenism: Featuring one high‑profile Afghan filmmaker does not substitute for sustained investment in the broader community of Afghan creatives.

These critiques are necessary to ensure the Berlinale moment becomes a start, not an endpoint, for sustained engagement.

Measuring impact: What success looks like

For Sadat’s film and for the festival, success is multi‑dimensional:

Cultural impact: Increased public awareness about pre‑2021 public life in Afghanistan and the plight of media workers after 2021.
Material support: New or expanded funds, residency slots, and resettlement mechanisms activated in the weeks following the Berlinale opening.
Protective measures: Concrete festival policies implemented to protect at‑risk contributors (confidential credits, secure archives, legal support).
Distribution equity: Meaningful distribution deals that return revenue and agency to the filmmakers and their collaborators.

Final takeaways: Why this film is consequential beyond cinema

No Good Men is consequential because it insists on remembering an institutional ecology — a Kabul newsroom — that no longer exists in the same way. The Berlinale platform converts cinematic nostalgia into a fulcrum for advocacy: for press freedom, for safer creative pathways, and for a juster international cinema economy that centers storytellers, not only stories.

Art can archive civic life; festivals can protect the archivists. If the Berlinale moment becomes a catalyst for durable, protective infrastructure, Sadat’s film will have done more than open a festival — it will have opened a lifeline.

Get involved: Practical steps you can take now

Attend the Berlinale screening (Feb. 12, 2026) or watch authorized streams to support revenue lines for the filmmakers.
Donate to emergency funds for Afghan journalists and filmmakers (look for verified NGOs and artist‑run relief funds).
Contact your local cultural ministry to encourage festival partnerships that include protective measures for at‑risk artists.
Share contextualized coverage — not only clips — that explains the film’s stakes for press freedom and representation.

Call to action

If you value press freedom and equitable international cinema, turn attention into action. Watch No Good Men at Berlinale; support verified funds aiding Afghan creators; urge festivals and distributors to adopt safety protocols; and amplify coverage that centers creators’ rights and security. The cultural memory of pre‑2021 Kabul deserves more than nostalgia — it demands protection, resources, and a public willing to keep these stories alive.

Subscribe for daily cultural briefs that cut through noise: we’ll track Berlinale outcomes, report on new support programs for Afghan creatives, and provide practical guides for audiences and industry partners who want to help.

newsdaily

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Senior editor and content strategist. Writing about technology, design, and the future of digital media. Follow along for deep dives into the industry's moving parts.

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