Anya Raza’s film about Afghan refugees played at the Regina International Film Festival in 2024
When history moves too fast, it forgets the people it leaves behind, and their stories fade into obscurity.
On The Mountain, a powerful film by Pakistani-Dutch writer and director Anya Raza, brings these stories to the forefront — illuminating the agonizing choices faced by Afghan refugees and the resilience that defines their journeys.
Set in the long shadow of the 2021 U.S withdrawal from Afghanistan, the film conjures the ghost of a nation unravelling, a family suspended in exile facing the heartbreak of displacement.
On the Mountain draws inspiration from true events, creating a narrative that is both intimate and universal. The film follows a journey of an Afghan family as they navigate the emotional and psychological terrain of resettlement.
Through the lens of Rabia Noori, a woman from Kabul, the audience is invited to witness the silent battles fought by those who are forced to leave their lives behind in pursuit of safety.
Raza’s direction and cinematography capture a plethora of stunning visuals.
The clever use of lightning and shadow motifs literally illuminates different facets of the refugee experience. Shots inside the hallway are graded in bleak, pallid tones; each lightning technique creating a distinct form of unease.
Raza artfully interpolates flashbacks with the present day for a narrative that unfolds in the end. This film knows what it wants to do and achieves it successfully. It is nearly perfect from beginning to end — the acting stunningly portrays fear, its script is precise, and the plot never drags.
Shot in both Dari (the dialect of Farsi spoken in Afghanistan) and English, the film drifts between languages effortlessly as it drifts between past and present. Memory collapses into the now. The weight of a homeland abandoned seeps into each frame. When dialogue is sparse, the emotional fluency speaks louder than words ever could.
The weight of unspoken fears
The cinematography transforms ordinary spaces — a sparse hallway before a life altering decision, a dimly lit room into arenas of profound emotional depth. The lens lingers on the stillness of these spaces, allowing the audience to feel the weight of unspoken fears and the fragility of hope, elevating Raza to the ranks of cinema’s most empathetic storytellers.
Rather than depicting the chaos of war through explosions, Raza turns her lens inwards, capturing the invisible scars of conflict: the silent, worried glances, the trembling hands, the unspoken fears that ripple through ordinary moments.
The film’s central moral crisis arrives without warning. Navigating the alien terrain of American resettlement, the Afghan family seek safety but what they find instead is uncertainty wrapped in cold bureaucracy and the fragile illusion begins to crack. The story pivots from escape to endurance, from hope to calculation. It is a moment of unbearable stillness, yet the protagonist stands at the edge of sacrifice.
This is where On the Mountain transcends cinema. Raza does not flinch from the ethical implications of this choice, she does not dramatize it. She simply shows it, trusting that her audience can feel the immensity of what’s at stake. This is direction at its finest – subtle, layered and profoundly moving.
When the film premiered in the Regina International Film Festival (RIFFA) 2024, audiences and jurors alike were struck by its restraint, raw truth and its refusal to compromise authenticity for cinematic flair.
At the screening, the audience members weren’t just watching, they were holding their breath.
At a time when Afghanistan has faded from most Western headlines, On The Mountain, recenters our focus. It confronts the viewer with questions we are rarely asked to answer: Who gets to start over? Who gets to stay?
What does safety mean when it comes at the cost of self? And who pays the price when the world moves on, leaving its most vulnerable behind?
In her own words
Asked what inspired her to write this film, Raza had this to say:
“On The Mountain is a slice of life into one of the many agonizing choices refugees have had to make when escaping danger. As a Pakistani-Dutch woman, I was raised between two cultures, therefore stories that span the gray areas of patriarchy and identity have always intrigued me.
“I was living in Washington, D.C., when the U.S. army withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021. Despite being in the capital of the United States, stories of devastation and unfulfilled promises barely made headlines. My best friend was working as a Pashto interpreter at a military base, and would tell me of the heart-wrenching choices families had to make as they fled Afghanistan. Spurred by decades of untold stories of Afghan heroes, I wrote this screenplay in consultation with multiple case workers supporting the 125,000 (and counting) Afghan refugees resettling in the U.S.”
Beyond its artistic achievement, Raza envisions her work as a catalyst for global dialogue.
“We hope this film will spark awareness and help mobilize resources for the many Afghans whose lives are starting from scratch” she stated.
Images from a tragedy
The images seen on TV news reports of young Afghans falling from planes and parents desperately holding up their children to departing soldiers starkly illustrate the tragedy of Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The U.S. president claimed the chaos was unforeseen and that the Afghan army’s collapse was inevitable. There is no small amount of irony in the most powerful man complaining of his powerlessness.
There was an Afghan generation growing up free of the Taliban rule, and the country inching towards stability – followed by Biden’s hasty retreat, driven by a desire to end “endless” wars.
It resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe: a country slipping back into tyranny and violence.
Critics have said the decision to withdraw was reckless, undermining America’s credibility and leaving allies in doubt about U.S. resolve. It could be seen as not only a strategic failure but also a moral one – an abandonment of the promises made to people who fought and hoped for a better future, shattered in a moment of political expediency.
A call to remember the refugees
On World Refugee Day (June 20, 2025), it’s important that we recognize the profound resilience and enduring spirit of Afghan refugees, who constitute one of the world’s largest displaced populations. As of 2023, over 2.8 million Afghans are registered as refugees, with millions more displaced internally or seeking asylum abroad.
As we observe this day, let it serve as a powerful reminder that protecting the rights and dignity of Afghan refugees is a collective responsibility, one that demands compassion, solidarity and unwavering commitment from the global community to foster hope and rebuild lives.
In a world where global headlines fade and refugees are reduced to statistics, On The Mountain offers a human face to struggle reminding us of the courage needed to start anew. In honoring their journey Raza reminds us that hope endures, even in the most uncertain of times.
