The date of the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan has nothing to do with Afghanistan itself. Like the attack on that country in 2001, this withdrawal is apparently understood as a "gesture" and a gift. Not to the Afghans, who were not to blame for the 9/11 attacks, but to the American public.

Read more in Krytyka Polityczna (in Polish only).

The mythical origins of the Afghans and their people, the reality of a war-torn country, and the participation of children in armed conflict are shown in "The Land of the Enlightened," available on VOD.MDAG.PL. Shot over seven years on evocative 16mm footage, first-time director Pieter-Jan De Pue paints a whimsical yet haunting look at the condition of Afghanistan left for the next generation. As American soldiers prepare to leave, we follow De Pue deep into this hidden land where young boys form wild gangs to control trade routes, sell explosives from mines left over from war, and climb rusting tanks as playgrounds-making the new rules of war based on the harsh landscape left to them.

The Land of the Enlightened, dir. Pieter-Jan De Pue

FOR THE WEEKEND is a new, permanent section of VOD.MDAG.PL, in which we present the most interesting articles from the Polish media and recommend films from our catalog that further discuss a particular problem.