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‘Retrograde’ chronicles the human consequences of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan

Political Theater, Episode 273

Matthew Heineman attends the Premiere Screening of his documentary film 'Retrograde', at Picturehouse Central on Nov. 2, 2022 in London.
Matthew Heineman attends the Premiere Screening of his documentary film 'Retrograde', at Picturehouse Central on Nov. 2, 2022 in London. (Dave Benett/Getty Images for Nat)

Matthew Heineman is one of the pre-eminent documentary filmmakers working, and his movies have provided ground level views of the world not available to many: drug cartels in Mexico, journalists working in the Syrian civil war and COVID-19 wards in New York in the early days of the pandemic. His latest project, “Retrograde,” captures the U.S. withdrawal in Afghanistan last year, and the ensuing fallout among the Afghan military personnel left to fight the Taliban.

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