Benjamin Gilmour's Jirga (Australia's Submission for Best Foreign Language Film to the 91st Oscars®) follows one man's quest for forgiveness and closure during the aftermath of war. Former soldier Mike Wheeler (Sam Smith) returns to Afghanistan after three years with one intention–to visit the family of an unarmed man he killed during the war, ask for their forgiveness, and give them money to make up for the tragic loss. While Mike at first believes the journey will be a simple one, he meets multiple obstacles upon arriving in Kabul, and his trip becomes an ongoing internal and external struggle. He finds himself swept up in the complicated and tension-filled community that he had once interacted with as a soldier. With the threat of Taliban forces in the air, Mike's journey becomes one not only of recompense for his past acts, but a process toward a new understanding of Afghanistan and its people.
Director Biography
Benjamin Gilmour is a director, writer, producer and cinematographer for both film and television. His filmography includes Son of a Lion (07) and Paramedico (12).
Press
"[Jirga]'s very existence seems to constitute an act of compassion." - The Guardian
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