13 Days, 13 Nights

Kabul, 15 August 2021. As American forces withdraw the Taliban enter the capital, and the French embassy becomes the last Western mission still open. Commander Mohamed Bida, responsible for its security, has to get the five hundred people trapped inside to the airport. Martin Bourboulon adapted Bida's own book and built the film almost entirely on waiting, phone calls and brief sorties. Roschdy Zem plays the commander, with Lyna Khoudri and Sidse Babett Knudsen in the cast. Its sharpest observation concerns bureaucratic delay at the moment of decision. It premiered out of competition at Cannes in May 2025 and opened in France that June. Who it is for: viewers who like true evacuation and crisis films. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a wide political frame, since the film stays inside the embassy walls.