Is “Kaboul” Based on a True Story? Discover the Facts Now!

Starting this Monday, March 31, France 2 will air one of its most ambitious projects of the year, “Kaboul.” Developed in collaboration with the European Alliance, the series is both dramatic and poignant. Created by Olivier Demangel and Thomas Finkielkraut, it traces the journey of an Afghan family after the city’s fall.

But is it based on a true story? The answer is yes! The plot draws inspiration from the aftermath of the American troop withdrawal announced by Joe Biden in August 2021. As the creators explain, they began writing the series right after the announcement:

“We seized the topic in September 2021. We were still in shock, and we undertook extensive research. Then, along with Olivier, we intuitively felt it was crucial to present a strong Afghan perspective on these events.”

Olivier Demangel adds: “The series includes a Western viewpoint, but the heart of the story belongs to the Afghans. They are the ones experiencing this tragedy. We formed this family by figuring out who could be the most likely victims of the Taliban, including a young medical intern, an army soldier, a Kabul court prosecutor, and her husband, who is an intellectual.”

But how does one handle such a recent subject? “Since it’s a historical event that occurred in our modern world, there was a wealth of documentaries.”

“We live in the age of social media, so we immediately had access to a plethora of images, and we were fortunate to have fantastic consultants. Additionally, books were rapidly published, providing us with a broad range of documentation.”

Ultimately, the material was very comprehensive, as Olivier Demangel reveals: “It was almost harder to sift through the information than to find it, trying to understand because Afghanistan is a country with a complicated geography and a complex history. We did not want to misrepresent our characters.”

“Everything is True and Nothing is True”

He continues: “Everything is inspired by real events, so everything is true and nothing is true. We’re not making documentaries, so we don’t write docu-fiction either. We made dramatic choices that were often instinctive. However, the overall chronological sequence is mostly accurate.”

However, they had to make some additions: “But we had to modify things to make it impactful because the series follows characters who create emotion. We try to focus on the characters and bring them to the most intense emotional points to convey the tragedy of what they are all experiencing, both Afghans and Westerners.”

“We Couldn’t Just Tell Anything”

The most challenging part, of course, was addressing the most difficult subjects: “By nature, it’s an ensemble series based on quite heavy real events, so that imposed a lot of humility on us. We couldn’t just tell anything.”

Olivier Demangel and Thomas Finkielkraut also chose not to show on-screen the images of Afghans trying to cling to planes to escape: “We found it ethically a bit too much to tell that story, and we didn’t see the added value since these are images that everyone had seen, and we wanted to tell something different.”

Don’t miss the series “Kaboul” already available on France TV and airing this Monday, March 31 at 9:10 PM on France 2.