Alex Gibney-Produced ‘Mohabat,’ Directed by James Longley, Wins at Ji.hlava: ‘Meticulously Researched and Exquisitely Crafted’

Oct 31, 2026 1:30pm PT Alex Gibney-Produced ‘Mohabat,’ Directed by James Longley, Wins at Ji.hlava: ‘Meticulously Researched and Exquisitely Crafted’

'Barbara Forever' and 'After the Rehearsal' also pick up awards

By Marta Balaga

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Marta Balaga

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James Longley’s “Mohabat” won the Opus Bonum section at Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival on Saturday.

Produced by Mohammad Sharif Hotak, Longley and Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney, it follows a 12-year-old boy Mohabat, whose father dies in a drone strike. Left without parental care, he’s taken to a city orphanage.

“By patiently observing the boy’s interactions with his two older brothers and the routines and rhythms of life in his village school, the film creates a complex and sympathetic portrait of an individual, a family and a community, stripping away the customary clichés,” argued the jury, calling it “meticulously researched and exquisitely crafted.”

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