and all the cave-dwellers - have suffered. Yet his conversation - as with all the main characters - is not predictable but, in fact, full of detail and nuance. Perched on the edge of the cliff, he looks down on a Bamiyan that is now secure but largely destroyed. His dreams were shattered long ago when the first Russian bombs fell on the town and everyone fled to the caves for safety.

Sayed Askar is another neighbour. A deeply religious man, he clearly bears the scars of two decades of war. Sayed Askar has participated in one way or another in all Afghanistan's recent trials and tribulations and his accounts provide a key part of the jigsaw that makes up the narration.

This film was made by Seventh Art Productions with support from Five, Sundance Institute Documentary Fund, Screen South and blue post production.