Traces: The Kabul Museum 1988 (2003)

An estimated 70% of the cultural treasures stored in the Kabul Museum in Afghanistan were destroyed, looted, or illegally sold abroad after the Democratic Republic collapsed in 1992 and the Taliban took power in 1996. Japanese documentarist Noriaki Tsuchimoto fortunately visited the museum before that and produced the world’s only moving image record of this priceless collection. The film begins with tours of the Silk Road and important archaeological sites, then introduces art works that go back to 300 BC, and concludes with reports of the museum’s destruction. Unfortunately the original location sound track has been lost, so Tsuchimoto himself re-edited the film in 2003 and supplied a new voice-over commentary.