Festival run

Far from Home

Short documentary · 2024 · Festival run

Samira Faizi fled Kabul for Delhi in 2021. With no refugee law in India and resettlement slow to come, she faces the possibility of being stuck forever.

Watch the trailer
Far from Home: official trailer (2 min)

Synopsis

Samira Faizi left Kabul with her family in 2021, after the Taliban took over Afghanistan. She had known Delhi for years as the city she visited for medical treatment; now it is where her family waits. Her sons find work in the dry fruit trade, Samira joins a handicraft centre run by a childhood friend, and the family holds on to one hope: resettlement in a country where they can rebuild.

India has no refugee law. Resettlement through the UNHCR moves slowly, and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 leaves Muslim refugees without a path to citizenship. Far from Home follows Samira as the possibility of being stuck in India forever closes in, and as her health gives way under the strain.

Funded by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, it is the first documentary about Afghan refugees in India.

Film facts and credits

Format
Short documentary
Year
2024
Country
India, United States
Status
Festival run
Premiere
World premiere at the American Documentary and Animation Film Festival (AmDocs), Palm Springs, March 2024
Director
Ankita M. Kumar
Producer
Brent E. Huffman
Executive producer
Naseeruddin Shah
Cinematography
Hans Samsa
Editor
Rwikjit Roy
Sound
Debangshu Roy

Supported by Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting · American Institute of Afghanistan Studies (AIAS)

Festivals and awards

  1. 2024 American Documentary and Animation Film Festival, Palm Springs, California Official Selection · Oscar-qualifying · World premiere, March 2024
  2. 2024 Tasveer Film Festival, Seattle Official Selection · Oscar-qualifying
  3. 2024 Chicago South Asian Film Festival, Chicago Runner-up: Best Short Documentary (audience award)
  4. 2024 Japan Prize (NHK), Tokyo Finalist
  5. 2024 San Francisco Documentary Festival, San Francisco Official Selection
  6. 2025 Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival, Providence, Rhode Island Semi-finalist · BAFTA-qualifying
  7. 2024 DC South Asian Film Festival, Washington, DC Official Selection
  8. 2025 New Delhi Film Festival, New Delhi Runner-up: Best Short Documentary
  9. 2025 Berlin Indie Film Festival, Berlin Official Selection
  10. 2023 College Filmmakers Film Festival Winner: Best Debut Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing

Stills

  • Samira Faizi, in a black headscarf, looks to one side in a Delhi Metro carriage.
    Samira Faizi introduces herself. Frame from the film, Delhi.
  • Samira Faizi and two young men stand on a Delhi Metro platform beside a train.
    Samira and her family on a Delhi Metro platform during the shoot. Delhi, 2022.
  • Samira Faizi covers her face with her hand while a young man sits beside her on a couch.
    "It's better to take her abroad, thus we came to India." Frame from the film.
  • Samira Faizi and her family pose at night in front of India Gate lit in saffron, white and green.
    An evening near India Gate, lit in the colours of the Indian flag. Delhi, 2022.
  • Close-up of hands threading beads at a handicraft centre.
    Work at the handicraft centre in Bhogal that employs Afghan women. Frame from the film.
  • Shopfronts with signs reading Shazad Artificial Jewellery and Afghan Store.
    An Afghan store in Delhi's Bhogal market. Frame from the film.
  • Samira Faizi walks with her family through a crowd at night near India Gate.
    Samira and her family in an evening crowd. Delhi, 2022.
  • Samira Faizi sits on floor cushions watching the film on a television.
    Samira Faizi watches Far from Home at home in Delhi.
  • Samira Faizi smiles at night with city lights behind her.
    "Just that the explosions were more frequent there." Frame from the film.

Production stills by Sahiba Chawdhary; frames from the film.

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