FORGOTTEN SPACEMAN
HERSHEWE FAZANAWERD
Elham Ehsas • Afghanistan, UK • 2026 • 16 min. • HD
SYNOPSIS
In 1988, Afghanistan sent its first and only astronaut, Abdul Ahad Momand, into space. From orbit, he called his mother, making Pashto the fourth language ever spoken beyond Earth. Momand’s story became a fleeting moment of hope as the country beneath him collapsed and millions of Afghans were pushed into exile.
This film playfully links a historical event and a familiar common feeling: the experience of diaspora, the shadows of colonialism, and the memory of a fractured and silenced nation.
TRAILER
+ Info: Elham Ehsas • Official Website
AWARDS
Junior Jury Award to Best Short Film / Pardi di Domani – Concorso Internazionale
Locarno Film Festival. Switzerland (2026)
FESTIVALS & ALTERNATIVE SCREENINGS
DokuFest International Documentary and Short Film Festival. Kosovo (2026)
TIFF Toronto International Film Festival. Canada (2026)
BIEFF Bucharest Experimental Film Festival. Romania (2026)
Encounters Film Festival. UK (2026)
BFI London International Film Festival. UK (2026)
Chicago International Film Festival. United States (2026)
Uppsala International Short Film Festival. Sweden (2026)
Archivio Aperto Festival. Italy (2026)
LEEDS International Film Festival. UK (2026)
Aesthetica Film Festival. UK (2026)
PRESS
CREW
DIRECTOR & SCRIPTWRITER
Elham Ehsas
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Catherine Tschaepe
Jack Thomas-O’Brien (Sixteen Films)
Sharib Khan, Vikas Kumar (Khan & Kumar)
Shruti Ganguly
Priya Giri Desai
Megha Kadakia
PRODUCERS
Lorraine Bhattachary (MonoFilm Productions)
Elham Ehsas (Foreigner Films)
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Dheeraj Agnihotri
SOUND DESIGN
Rob Szeliga
John Cohen
EDITOR
Elham Ehsas
COMPOSER
CJ Mirra
COLOUR
Mara Ciorba
DCP
Jack Adney
WORLD SALES & FESTIVALS
María Vera (KINO REBELDE)