An exceptional documentary that delves into the heart of the Taliban regime and the upended daily lives of Afghan citizens, particularly women.
Nearly five years after their return to power, a new era has dawned under the yoke of the Taliban, an unyielding fundamentalist regime. Under their rule, the former republic has vanished, replaced by an ultra-rigid regime that is closed off to the rest of the world and to the foreign press. An “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” largely unrecognized, not even by other Islamic theocracies.
After four filming trips, conducted primarily outside official channels, *The Taliban Country* offers a glimpse into the heart of this new Afghan reality. A country that erases women from public life while revitalizing rural areas. A country that persecutes its opponents but, for the first time in decades, has brought about a ceasefire. A country that imprisons its people behind a series of freedom-suppressing prohibitions, while putting an end to virtually all of its domestic opium production. A country that claims to follow Sharia law, while practicing a form of traditional extremism that many Afghans consider a distortion of their religion.
Through the eyes of the men and women facing these upheavals, the film paints a portrait of a paradoxical and radical system. It offers an in-depth look at the workings of a state characterized by extreme austerity, unparalleled in the contemporary world.
*The Taliban Country* (1 hr 15 min, 2026), by Solène Chalvon-Fioriti and Marianne Getti.
Director: Solène Chalvon-Fioriti. Cinematography: Marianne Getti.
Production: Chrysalide / Elephant Doc.
In collaboration with France Télévisions.
The screening will be followed by a discussion with Solène Chalvon-Fioriti and Alice Zeniter, and a book signing.
Solène Chalvon-Fioriti
Solène Chalvon Fioriti © Kiana Hayeri No stranger to conflict zones, Solène Chalvon-Fioriti is an author, journalist, and documentary filmmaker.
She served as a correspondent in Afghanistan and Pakistan for twelve years. Her work in Central Asia, as well as in Iran and Palestine, has been broadcast on Arte, France 24, France 2, and M6. It focuses primarily on religion and armed groups, topics she also covered for Libération for ten years. Her work has regularly received awards, such as her literary account *La femme qui s’est éveillée, une histoire afghane* (Flammarion, 2021), an investigative piece on abortion in Afghanistan.
Through her projects, the journalist offers a feminist perspective on contemporary conflicts.
Marianne Getti
Marianne Getti has been working alternately as a director and director of photography on magazine programs and documentaries for French television networks for the past nine years. After five years covering the African continent for France Télévisions, she now uses her camera and artistic sensibility to explore social issues, both in France and abroad (Ethiopia, Israel-Palestine, Afghanistan). Together with Agnès Nabat, she won the Bayeux Prize, the DIG Awards, and the Grand Prix-40 min at FIGRA 2025 for the film *L’Arme silencieuse* (*The Silent Weapon*), which addresses the rapes committed during the Tigray War from 2020 to 2022.
Alice Zeniter
Alice Zeniter © Lynn SK Alice Zeniter was born in 1986. After extensive studies in literature and theater, she left college to devote herself to writing. She has published several novels, including *Sombre dimanche* (Prix du Livre Inter, 2013), *Juste avant l’Oubli* (Renaudot High School Students’ Prize, 2015), *L’Art de perdre* (Goncourt High School Students’ Prize, 2017), and *Frapper l’épopée*.
Alice Zeniter is an author and theater director with her company, L’Entente Cordiale. Her work includes two children’s plays, *Un Ours of course* and *Hansel and Gretel: The Beginning of Hunger*, as well as several musical readings.
In 2020, she created a one-woman show, *Je suis une fille sans histoire*, which she performed for three years. Her plays are published by Actes Sud and l’Arche.
An exceptional documentary that delves into the heart of the Taliban regime and the upended daily lives of Afghan citizens, particularly women.
Nearly five years after their return to power, a new era has dawned under the yoke of the Taliban, an unyielding fundamentalist regime. Under their rule, the former republic has vanished, replaced by an ultra-rigid regime that is closed off to the rest of the world and to the foreign press. An “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” largely unrecognized, not even by other Islamic theocracies.
After four filming trips, conducted primarily outside official channels, *The Taliban Country* offers a glimpse into the heart of this new Afghan reality. A country that erases women from public life while revitalizing rural areas. A country that persecutes its opponents but, for the first time in decades, has brought about a ceasefire. A country that imprisons its people behind a series of freedom-suppressing prohibitions, while putting an end to virtually all of its domestic opium production. A country that claims to follow Sharia law, while practicing a form of traditional extremism that many Afghans consider a distortion of their religion.
Through the eyes of the men and women facing these upheavals, the film paints a portrait of a paradoxical and radical system. It offers an in-depth look at the workings of a state characterized by extreme austerity, unparalleled in the contemporary world.
*The Taliban Country* (1 hr 15 min, 2026), by Solène Chalvon-Fioriti and Marianne Getti.
Director: Solène Chalvon-Fioriti. Cinematography: Marianne Getti.
Production: Chrysalide / Elephant Doc.
In collaboration with France Télévisions.
The screening will be followed by a discussion with Solène Chalvon-Fioriti and Alice Zeniter, and a book signing.
Solène Chalvon-Fioriti
Solène Chalvon Fioriti © Kiana Hayeri No stranger to conflict zones, Solène Chalvon-Fioriti is an author, journalist, and documentary filmmaker.
She served as a correspondent in Afghanistan and Pakistan for twelve years. Her work in Central Asia, as well as in Iran and Palestine, has been broadcast on Arte, France 24, France 2, and M6. It focuses primarily on religion and armed groups, topics she also covered for Libération for ten years. Her work has regularly received awards, such as her literary account *La femme qui s’est éveillée, une histoire afghane* (Flammarion, 2021), an investigative piece on abortion in Afghanistan.
Through her projects, the journalist offers a feminist perspective on contemporary conflicts.
Marianne Getti
Marianne Getti has been working alternately as a director and director of photography on magazine programs and documentaries for French television networks for the past nine years. After five years covering the African continent for France Télévisions, she now uses her camera and artistic sensibility to explore social issues, both in France and abroad (Ethiopia, Israel-Palestine, Afghanistan). Together with Agnès Nabat, she won the Bayeux Prize, the DIG Awards, and the Grand Prix-40 min at FIGRA 2025 for the film *L’Arme silencieuse* (*The Silent Weapon*), which addresses the rapes committed during the Tigray War from 2020 to 2022.
Alice Zeniter
Alice Zeniter © Lynn SK Alice Zeniter was born in 1986. After extensive studies in literature and theater, she left college to devote herself to writing. She has published several novels, including *Sombre dimanche* (Prix du Livre Inter, 2013), *Juste avant l’Oubli* (Renaudot High School Students’ Prize, 2015), *L’Art de perdre* (Goncourt High School Students’ Prize, 2017), and *Frapper l’épopée*.
Alice Zeniter is an author and theater director with her company, L’Entente Cordiale. Her work includes two children’s plays, *Un Ours of course* and *Hansel and Gretel: The Beginning of Hunger*, as well as several musical readings.
In 2020, she created a one-woman show, *Je suis une fille sans histoire*, which she performed for three years. Her plays are published by Actes Sud and l’Arche.
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Children with No History
The Stories of Alice Zeniter
An exploration of French literature from the past fifty years through the lens of migration patterns.
“I’m feeling my way through it, searching for people who are like me; I’m looking for stories that reflect my own experience: those of French people who have one or both parents from elsewhere. It’s a journey—from novel to novel and from 1980 to the present—alongside the children of Algerians, Tunisians, Moroccans, Vietnamese, Senegalese, Malians… Here we hear the angry, timid, joyful, or hoarse voices of those most directly affected; here we listen to what literature creates from these...On Friday, Nov 6, 2026
de 20h à 21h30
J4 / Auditorium
Little Casbah
The Stories of Alice Zeniter
Animated film for ages 7 and up; the screening will be followed by a discussion with two of the authors, Alice Carré and Alice Zeniter.
Algeria, June 1955. Khadidja leaves Kabylie to join her older brother Malek in Algiers. After an altercation at the market, he is arrested by the police, and Khadidja finds herself alone. Fortunately, Lyes, Ahmed, and Philippe will do everything they can to help her find Malek. From the rooftops of the Casbah, the four children conduct their investigation. *Petite Casbah* (Ages 7 and up, 1 hour 20 minutes, animated film, 2026), by Antoine Colomb, written by Alice Zeniter, Alice Carré, and...On Saturday, Nov 7, 2026
de 10h30 à 12h30
J4 / Auditorium
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Characters and Identities
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How does your art bring characters to life?
Featuring Alice Carré, Hassen Ferhani, and Alice Zeniter. A discussion moderated by Elodie Karaki. That is the question Alice Zeniter hopes to explore with her guests, filmmaker Hassen Ferhani and author and director Alice Carré. From the blank page to the screen, and from the stage to the screen, how are the people who bring our stories to life and embody our identities shaped? The event will be followed by a book signing.On Saturday, Nov 7, 2026
de 18h à 19h30
J4 / Auditorium
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Live set by Isam Elias
The Stories of Alice Zeniter
A world where piano, electronic music, and Middle Eastern rhythms converge.
With his “Solo” project, Isam Elias blends Eastern folk melodies with powerful electronic sounds infused with dabkeh and Middle Eastern dance rhythms. By bringing the piano to the forefront alongside synthesizers, he takes listeners on a journey through Western productions, rhythms, Afro-Oriental dance vibes, and touches of dancehall. On-site bar and dining.On Saturday, Nov 7, 2026
de 20h à 21h30
J4 / Forum