ITV to show Afghanistan documentary made over 20-year period

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief | 2h

ITV is to premiere an acclaimed documentary following a boy growing up in Afghanistan over a 20-year period.

ITV is to broadcast an acclaimed documentary following a boy growing up in Afghanistan over the last 20 years.

The country is in fresh crisis after President Joe Biden decided to withdraw US troops, allowing the Taliban the opportunity to seize control and force out the domestic government and military.

My Childhood, My Country - 20 Years in Afghanistan - first shown at Sheffield DocFest in June - tells the story of Mir Hussain, from his time as a cheeky seven-year-old boy living in a cave in central Afghanistan through to an adult trying to raise a family of his own.

Kevin Lygo, MD of entertainment and media at ITV, said of the acquisition: "20 years in the making, following the story of mischievous and endearing seven-year-old Mir Hussain from 2001 to 2021, this film is both a remarkable portrait of one child's life in Afghanistan and of the conflict that has engulfed the region. This unique film could not be more timely."

Director Phil Grabsky added: "No-one could have anticipated the adventures we have all been on over the past 20 years as we made this film – a film that sought to see what the result of international intervention would be, and what became of the £2.3 trillion investment.

"I can safely say that no film has captured the life inside an Afghan family in the way this one does. And little did we know that the final days of filming would coincide with the Taliban once again being in control of the country."

The piece will air on ITV next month.