TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL 2023 REVIEW! Afghanistan was once known for its beautiful landscapes, cultural progression, and peace. However, a decade-long war with the Soviets and the United States intervention toppled the nation. Moreover, it caused a wave of religious extremism that backfired in the States in 2001. What led further was a two-decade civil war in the hills that took lives at an unprecedented rate and scale. Now, Afghanistan is in shambles, facing the oppression of citizens, violation of civil rights, and denial of the right to existence. One can blame all parties involved from all the reports and investigative journalistic articles for the chaos that has doomed a once flourishing nation. But what about the ones who held no weapons yet suffered the most unfathomable loss and pain? Who cares for the people forced to live in shackles of threat and danger? What about the PEOPLE?
“An Afghan-born journalist returns to her homeland to investigate her family’s killings…”
The Night Doctrine is a personal story that traverses the true impact of the Afghan war on those whose voices never made it1 through the loud bombings and gunshots. Based on the accurate account of journalist Lynzy Billing and her investigative reports, ‘The Night Raids’ that unravel the Central Intelligence Agency’s role in unverified raids in Afghan villages during the States’ War on Terror – The Night Doctrine follows Lynzy’s years of research into Zero Units’ killings they executed for CIA while simultaneously searching for those who similarly murdered her family.
Told through a series of montages of animated illustrations by Mauricio Rodriguez-Pons, The Night Doctrine features narration from Lynzy herself. At the same time, voice actors step in for some of the Zero Units soldiers she interviewed during her investigation. The sixteen-minute short film overlaps monologues and conversations to immerse the audience in its determination of the real culprit behind the losses of war. The Zero Units soldiers, Baseer and Hadi (names changed), recount their remorseful role in multiple killings. At the same time, Lynzy struggles to find her personal closure during her rigorous dive into the depths of these unjust night raids.
