Carnegie Mellon University

What We Left Unfinished

CMU International Film Festival

February 16, 2023 - 6pm
McConomy Auditorium

Mariam Ghani, writer, artist, and filmmaker, joins the CMU IFF to present her documentary, “What We Left Unfinished.” This award-winning film features five unfinished films from Afghanistan’s communist era (1978-1992), exploring the ways in which those unfinished projects leave their mark in the present. Through the splicing and editing of the films, Ghani attempts to highlight the ways in which art and politics interacted during this period of time in the country. The film provides an immersive experience into each of these pieces, allowing viewers to analyze the ways film can function as an artifact rather than a fully-formed ideological entity. “What We Left Unfinished” brings to light the dedication of filmmakers to their craft in a time when ideas and creative freedom underwent extensive scrutiny and control.

“What We Left Unfinished” launches the incredible programming of the 2023 season of CMU International Film Festival: Faces of Change. The event is presented by CMU IFF and CMU’S Center for the Arts in Society on Thursday, February 16th, at 6 pm EDT in the McConomy Auditorium. The Screening will be followed by a Q&A session with director Mariam Ghani, moderated by Habib Sorosh, CMU Scholar at Risk and Visiting Research Professor of Afghan Cinema and Theatre.