An engrossing portrait of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, as it has rarely been seen before. Japanese documentarist Noriaki Tsuchimoto was one of the few outsiders officially allowed to film during the Soviet occupation. Photographed in 1985 during the nation’s civil war, Another Afghanistan reveals everyday life on the streets before al-Qaeda and the Taliban: nomads mixing with urban dwellers, modern apartment buildings next to mosques and bazaars, women attending school or vocational training, the massive turnout on the anniversary of the Revolution. Unfortunately the original location sound track has been lost, so Tsuchimoto himself has supplied a new voice-over commentary.

An estimated 70% of the cultural treasures stored in the Kabul Museum in Afghanistan were destroyed, looted, or illegally sold abroad after the Democratic Republic collapsed in 1992 and the Taliban took power in 1996. Japanese documentarist Noriaki Tsuchimoto fortunately visited the museum before that and produced the world’s only moving image record of this priceless collection. The film begins with tours of the Silk Road and important archaeological sites, then introduces art works that go back to 300 BC, and concludes with reports of the museum’s destruction. Unfortunately the original location sound track has been lost, so Tsuchimoto himself re-edited the film in 2003 and supplied a new voice-over commentary.

The first in a series of independent documentaries that Tsuchimoto made of the mercury poisoning incident in Minamata, Japan.