No Good Men

Opening Film, 2026 Berlin International Film Festival
Official Selection, 2026 Busan International Film Festival

Naru, a young camera operator and newly separated mother of a young child, and Qodrat, a much older TV reporter colleague (married with children), fall for each other in the chaotic days leading up to the Taliban regaining control of Afghanistan.

The title refers to responses Naru elicited during a Valentine’s Day segment (assigned as a form of punishment) where she asks women on the street if there are any good men in Afghanistan: “I’ve never seen a man who appreciates his wife and speaks kindly to her—it’s just beatings, insults, chores, and taking care of the children.”

Meanwhile, Qodrat seems different, even if he does initially dismiss Naru for not being a “real cameraman.” He fends off her ex-husband demanding custody of their child, and publicly credits her ability to get the women she interviews to open up for an important news story (something her male colleagues never managed to do). Is Qodrat the knight in shining armor she’s been waiting for? Is her city Kabul about to collapse into totalitarianism?

Iran-born, Afghan director-in-exile Shahrbanoo Sadat (who plays Naru) deftly incorporates easy banter (and giggles over a veiny dildo gift in a scene with UCSD alum Torkan Omari) that would belong in a typical workplace romcom, were it not also touching on spousal abuse, violence, gang rape, sexism and the patriarchy, kidnappings of women, and suicide bombings.

This unconventional romantic dramedy is the third part of a five-film series by Sadat inspired by the autobiographical writings of author and actor Anwar Hashimi (who plays Qodrat) and Sadat’s life.

– Wilda Wong