Educational Media Reviews Online

Coverage of the war in Afghanistan may be trumped by other headlines, but Dateline Afghanistan is a sobering reminder that journalists there still have a very important story to tell.

A veteran journalist himself, filmmaker Bill Gentile spotlights the forgotten war in Afghanistan through the eyes of its correspondents. He goes alongside reporters from the Associated Press, the BBC, the New York Times, Time, and the Washington Post as they put themselves in harm’s way for a profession and cause that often go unnoticed. He also gleans their perspectives on the cultural and personal challenges of war reporting.

Set against Afghanistan’s breathtaking yet rugged terrain, the film’s powerful images reveal a dichotomy among those who live and fight there. Harshness and poverty are commonplace, but innocence and progress have begun to dot the war-torn landscape. Gentile shows both the victory and shame that are an inevitable part of military operations.

Dateline Afghanistan is an excellent resource for journalism instructors and students. Viewers will see the journalistic information gathering process from start to finish. The film’s special features include a teaching guide available on the Choices web site. A photo gallery, director’s statement, and additional footage are accessible on the DVD’s main menu.

Highly recommended for academic and public libraries.