Director: Martin Bourboulon
Cast: Roschdy Zem, Lyna Khoudri, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Christophe Montenez, Sina Parvaneh
13 Days, 13 Nights: In the Hell of Kabul is a 2025 French-Belgian action-thriller war film directed by Martin Bourboulon, dramatizing the harrowing evacuation of the French embassy during the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August 2021 — a siege that put hundreds of lives on the line with no guarantee of escape.
What is 13 Days, 13 Nights: In the Hell of Kabul about?
August 15, 2021: as the last American soldiers prepare their final withdrawal from Afghanistan, Taliban forces are sweeping into the capital with alarming speed. At the French embassy — one of the only Western missions refusing to shutter its doors — Commander Mohamed Bida and his security detail find themselves responsible for the safety of over five hundred people: diplomats, local staff, and desperate civilians seeking refuge. Cut off from outside help and surrounded by chaos, Bida's team must devise a way through a city in freefall and reach the airport before all avenues of escape close permanently. The film follows their desperate push hour by hour, each decision carrying life-or-death weight as the window shrinks.
Cast & crew
Director Martin Bourboulon, known for large-scale French productions, brings a documentary-grounded intensity to the story. Roschdy Zem leads as Commander Bida, conveying quiet resolve under impossible pressure. Lyna Khoudri delivers a striking performance as a young woman caught in the collapse, while Sidse Babett Knudsen and Christophe Montenez round out the ensemble with authority. Sina Parvaneh appears in a supporting role, and the cast also features Yan Tual, Fatima Adoum, and Shoaib Saïd.
Context & significance
The fall of Kabul in August 2021 resonated deeply across Persian-speaking communities worldwide, including the Iranian diaspora, because of shared language, geography, and the living memory of displacement. Dari — one of Afghanistan's official languages — is mutually intelligible with Persian, giving this film an added layer of linguistic closeness for viewers who grew up speaking Farsi. The story of ordinary people caught in a political collapse, forced to improvise escape routes under fire, echoes experiences familiar to many in the diaspora. As an action-thriller built around real events, the film offers both pulse-pounding tension and genuine human weight, making it a compelling watch for Persian-speaking audiences curious about the chaos that reshaped the region. A Persian dub is available on K-Time.
Where & how to watch
13 Days, 13 Nights: In the Hell of Kabul is available on K-Time with a Persian dub. You can watch on the web, on your TV, or on your phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, no extra download required. Start and cancel anytime.