We are a proud community partner with #CIFF43 for the film Laila at the Bridge, an incredible story of a woman who will stop at nothing to change her world.

Afghanistan has the highest rate of opioid addiction in the world. In Kabul there is an infamous bridge where the multitudes of addicts go to get their fix. Beneath the bridge, people gather in squalor with their needles and pipes. Above the bridge, passersby gather to watch the unfortunate souls below. Almost no one who stands atop the bridge ventures underneath… but Laila Haidari makes this journey every day. Known in Kabul as the “mother of addicts,” Laila has dedicated her life to helping the people under this bridge—gathering whomever will come with her and taking them to her recovery house to get clean, free of charge. With no government or international assistance, Laila works tirelessly to save as many as she can, facing head-on the enormous challenges before her.

An inspiring and heart-wrenching documentary, Laila at the Bridge is an incredible story of a woman who will stop at nothing to change her world. (In Dari and Pashto with subtitles)