«13 Days 13 Nights», the Afghan hell filmed in Casablanca
Inspired by the book ″13 jours, 13 nuits dans l’Enfer de Kaboul″ (13 days, 13 nights in the Hell of Kabul), a poignant autobiographical account by Major Mohamed Bida written a few years after his return from mission in August 2021, the film «13 jours 13 nuits» was previewed on Monday 07 July 2025 in Casablanca. The screening was attended by French director Martin Bourboulon, and Roschdy Zem, the French-Moroccan actor, screenwriter, and director, who plays the role of Commander Bida (Mo).
Inspired by real events
The film plunges back into the events of the war in Afghanistan, as Kabul falls under Taliban control. We follow the exfiltration of the French embassy to get as many civilians as possible out of this country in extreme security crisis, before it’s too late.
Alone on the ground, Commander Mohamed Bida (Roschdy Zem) and his team attempt to maintain security. Faced with an inextricable situation, he decides to enter into negotiations with the Taliban in order to set up the last-chance convoy. To this end, he enlists the help of Eva (Lyna Khoudri), a young Franco-Afghan humanitarian who will come and translate the negotiations between the two sides.
An operation as tense and difficult as it is humane, led by a man in the shadows.
The story was punctuated by particularly striking scenes, starting with those highlighting the composure and courage of a journalist, also trapped in Afghanistan and one of the people to be evacuated. Despite the constant threat, the journalist kept her cool.
Casablanca becomes Kabul for a moment
An emotionally-charged projection in a city that, on screen, fades behind the empty, chaotic streets of Kabul.
Indeed, the film was shot entirely in the Moroccan economic capital, Casablanca, in an urban setting completely transformed to resemble, or even copy, the Afghan capital. «We tried to make Casablanca as unrecognizable as possible. So here I am in the wrong place because you live here, so you recognize Casablanca. But normally, people think it’s Kabul,» explains Martin Bourboulon.
The heart of the film is the man who remained standing in the midst of the chaos. Mohamed Bida, raised in the working-class neighborhoods of northern France, became a respected commander. « What I liked was that he’s a man who wasn’t considered by French society at a young age. And rather than being vengeful, he showed society that it was wrong not to consider him « , said Roschdy Zem, speaking of the character he plays.But the film rejects the codes of the spectacular action film. Its ambition lies elsewhere. “At no point did I want anyone to be able to say to me: ‘You’ve used this subject as a pretext to make a sensational film’”, says the director.
For example, the final explosion is deliberately filmed off-camera, from the point of view of the main character: a sober, almost prudish choice of direction to avoid the “dramatic” side that the director avoided at all costs. “What it is saying at that moment, to be in real time with him, to really be in his feelings… I thought it was the right place ”, he added.
Selma SAOULI
