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<strong>Over the weekend, the ongoing Venice Film Festival saw concern voiced&nbsp;by artists about the situation in Afghanistan following its takeover by Taliban. In a moving statement two veteran filmmakers from the country &ndash; Sahraa Karimi and Sahra Mani &ndash; spoke about the situation in their country.</strong></p>
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As reported by AFP, 38-year-old Karimi who has won several international awards, told the media: &quot;In just two weeks, the most brilliant elements have left the country, at least those who were able. Imagine a country without artists.&rdquo;</p>
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Summing up vividly about how rapidly things changed with the Taliban assuming power she said the Afghan film industry had entirely stopped &quot;in the space of a few hours&quot; after last month&#39;s sudden takeover by the Taliban following the exit of US troops.</p>
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She added: &quot;The archives are now under the control of the Taliban. The work of directors vanished in a few hours. Some were able to leave with their computers, others with nothing at all.&quot;</p>
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<strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/culture-news/fear-anguish-and-a-sense-of-betrayal-looms-over-artists-of-afghanistan-108745.html">Fear, anguish and a sense of betrayal looms over artists of Afghanistan</a></strong></p>
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Mani, who is a documentary filmmaker, well known for her work&nbsp;<em>A Thousand Girls Like Me</em>&nbsp;on victims of incest said: &quot;This collapse meant we lost everything.&quot; She cited the example of Kabul&rsquo;s only mixed music school. &quot;The Taliban are now occupying the building. They have destroyed the students&#39; instruments and the students are in hiding.&rdquo;</p>
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Describing her fellow exiles as &quot;ambassadors of Afghan identity&quot;, Mani warned the world against trusting the Taliban. &quot;Not only are they more cruel, they are wiser due to their use of technology.&quot;</p>
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Seeking help Mani said: &quot;We can only be saved by the international community. Help us! We need hope. Please be our voices and speak about our situation.&rdquo;</p>
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<strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/culture-news/cannes-award-winner-shahrbanoo-sadat-says-afghanistan-situation-has-changed-her-cinema-forever-108897.html">Cannes Award winner Shahrbanoo Sadat says Afghanistan situation has changed her cinema forever!</a></strong></p>
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Karimi and Mani were joined at Venice by members of the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR), which was formed at last year&#39;s festival to help artists from countries in turmoil such as Myanmar.</p>
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