Country: Denmark, Iceland, Norway
Year: 2026
Duration: 88'
Childhood ends at age fourteen for Afghan children under Taliban rule. In a countdown from age twelve to fourteen, Zahra and Zalgai insist on playing as silence and duty close in, turning the circus they love into their last act of defiance before childhood disappears.
Biography
film director
Camille Bildsøe
(Denmark) has been making films since she was 15 years old. She has been studying and working two years in New York City finishing up two documentary shorts: I Am Still Alive and The Happiest Family, both in 2015. She has both lived and worked in conflict zones such as Palestine, experiences that have significantly shaped her perspective and approach to the documentary gaze. Her work often turns toward stories emerging from these regions. Her debut feature-length documentary, I Wish the World Was a Paper Plane (2020), was selected for the documentary film festival CPH:DOX. In 2026 she then shot in Afghanistan two docs, Farver i støvet - Et cirkus under taliban and If Luck Will Come.
FILMOGRAFIA
I Am Still Alive (doc, cm, 2015), The Happiest Family (doc, cm, 2015), I Wish the World Was a Paper Plane (doc, 2020), Farver i støvet - Et cirkus under taliban (2026), If Luck Will Come (2026).
Declaration
film director
“In August 2021, as summer rain fell over Denmark, I sat glued to the television watching reports of the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul. For anyone following the news, it was clear that a dark and uncertain future awaited many Afghans – especially children and women. In 2022, exactly one year after the Taliban regained power, cinematographer Jonas Fogh and I traveled to Afghanistan for the first time at the invitation of a social circus project (MMCC Global). It was in this magical free space, created by dedicated adults and eager children, that the film was born.”
Cast
& Credits
DIRECTOR: Camille Bildsøe. CINEMATOGRAPHY: Jonas Fogh. EDITING: Signe Rebekka Kaufmann. MUSIC: Kate Havnevik. SOUND: Björn Viktorsson. PRODUCTION: Sofie Husum Johannesen for Elk Film. COPRODUCTION: Sverre Pedersen for Point of View, Hanna Björk Valsdóttir for Akkeri Films. CONTACT: Filmotor (Michaela Cajkova) - michaela@filmotor.com
