The latest film by Afghan director Sahraa Karimi premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2019. It portrays three women, all living in Kabul but in different social contexts, who deal in their own way with pregnancy. The filmmaker's recent open letter warning against the Taliban was sent out to the world just before Kabul was taken. She has since fled Afghanistan and is now in Kyiv.

Under the first Taliban regime (1996–2001), women were banned from working in most fields of society, jeopardizing subsistence for families whose male members were killed or injured in conflict. "Osama" follows a young girl who disguises herself as a boy to support her family. It was the first movie to be filmed entirely in Afghanistan since 1996, as the Taliban had also banned filmmaking.

The award-winning Irish studio Cartoon Saloon created an animated film with a similar story: "The Breadwinner," based on the best-selling novel by Deborah Ellis, is also about a determined young girl who takes on the appearance of a boy to support her family. Executive produced by Angelina Jolie, the film received an Oscar nomination for best animated feature.

Based on the best-selling novel by Khaled Hosseini and directed by German-Swiss filmmaker Marc Forster, "The Kite Runner" deals with universal themes such as guilt and redemption, but the story is anchored in Afghanistan's tumultuous past half century, covering the fall of the monarchy, the Soviet military intervention, the mass exodus of Afghan refugees and the Taliban regime.

This film by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, one of Iran's great directors, tells the story of an Afghan-Canadian who returns to her homeland to save her sister from committing suicide. "Kandahar" didn't get much attention when it premiered at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. But then came the September 11 attacks, and the world wanted to find out more about the hardships faced by women in Afghanistan.

Two years later, Mohsen Makmalbaf's daughter, Samira, another leading name of the Iranian New Wave, also premiered a film centering on Afghan women at the Cannes Film Festival. "At Five in the Afternoon" tells the story of a young woman in war-torn Kabul who dreams of becoming president and tries to gain an education after the defeat of the Taliban. The film was also shot in the Afghan capital.

"In This World" portrays two young Afghan refugees on their illegal journey from a refugee camp in Pakistan to London. The drama directed by Michael Winterbottom was shot in documentary style, and had non-professional actors performing fictionalized versions of themselves. It won the Golden Bear award at the 2003 Berlin Film Festival and the BAFTA for the best non-English film.

The film "Lone Survivor" is based on the best-selling account of US Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, which depicts his participation in Operation Red Wings, targeting a group of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan's Kunar Province in 2005. Luttrell, portrayed by Mark Wahlberg in the film, was the only one in his four-man SEAL team to survive an ambush; a helicopter sent to their aid was also shot down.

The third film in Sylvester Stallone's series is set during the Soviet-Afghan War. Rambo heads to Afghanistan to rescue his former commander from the ruthless Soviet Army. Claims that the film initially had a dedication "to the brave Mujahideen fighters," later altered to "the gallant people of Afghanistan" after 9/11, have resurfaced this week — but fact checkers have found this is only a myth.

But during the Reagan administration, the US did support the Mujahideen, the anti-Soviet resistance fighters — who went on to form fundamentalist groups such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda. US Congressman Charlie Wilson (portrayed by Tom Hanks in the film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Aaron Sorkin) was a key proponent of the covert funding program, which continued as late as 1991.

Afghan families have been making increasingly desperate attempts to get into Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. Many children are among the crowds trying to make a last ditch attempt to escape the Taliban who stormed the capital city.

Since the withdrawal of US and NATO troops, Afghans have faced a difficult decision: stay and hope government forces contain the Taliban insurgency or flee to neighboring countries. Now that the Taliban has seized Kabul, many now appear to be caught in limbo, with no clear indication as to what will happen next.

Kabul's main airport, named after Hamid Karzai, the first president installed after the Taliban were toppled, was the scene of desperate crowds on Monday. Hundreds were hoping to board planes and flee Taliban rule. While Western powers rushed to evacuate small groups of people, mostly their own citizens but also some local employees, commercial flights in and out of the country were halted.

After the fall of the capital city, Kabul, Taliban fighters took control of the Afghan presidential palace on Sunday. Live footage showed Taliban commanders and fighters sitting inside the palace, declaring victory in their campaign against Afghan forces.

Many fear the hard-line Islamist rule of the Taliban, who claimed in a statement that they would not take revenge against those who supported the US-backed alliance. Women and girls were mostly prohibited from education during the Taliban's previous rule in Afghanistan. People in Kabul hurriedly took their own steps to try to hide images the fundamentalists might dislike.

While the Hamid Karzai airport saw an exodus of people trying to leave, some Afghans crossed over the border to Pakistan. Pakistani Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told DW that the government has closed the Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan.

The US and its allies entered Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks in 2001, and toppled the Taliban. As the 20-year conflict came to an abrupt end with the pullout of US and NATO troops, Afghan government forces quickly collapsed without support.

The Taliban governed the country from 1996 to 2001 and imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic Shariah law. It was founded under the leadership of Mullah Omar. Haibatullah Akhundzada is now the top leader, while co-founder Mullah Baradar, seen in this image, heads the political wing.

The Taliban claims it is ready to control the country and on Monday said it would not harm civilians who had cooperated with Western forces. "We are ready to have a dialogue with all Afghan figures and will guarantee them the necessary protection," Taliban political office spokesman Mohammad Naeem told broadcaster Al Jazeera. The claim might not be easy for all to believe.

Women, children and other minorities are likely to suffer badly under the Taliban regime. Women and girls were barred from education during the Taliban's previous rule in Afghanistan, which was overturned after the US-led invasion in 2001.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on August 15. "In order to avoid the bleeding flood, I thought it was best to get out," he said, but stressed that he would continue to fight for the country.

Afghan leaders have created a council to meet with the Taliban and manage the transfer of power. Former President Hamid Karzai, who is part of the council, said this was "to prevent chaos and reduce the suffering of the people," and to manage a "peaceful transfer" of power.

Germany deployed military planes to help with evacuation from Afghanistan after closing its Kabul embassy. The US, Britain and Saudi Arabia are also evacuating forces, diplomats, and other officials from the country.

Many in the US demonstrated in front of the White House for the restoration of peace in Afghanistan on the weekend. Admiral Mike Mullen said the US and allies "underestimated the impact of what a corrupt government does." He added: "We just reached too far, expectations were too high, and it was a bridge too far to get to where we thought we wanted to go."