Afghanistan Peace Campaign
One of the Afghans, whose face is shown in close-up, was captured by the Taliban shortly after the film’s December 2022 release and died from wounds inflicted by torturers while he was being held, according to an interpreter and two others who spoke to The Post on the condition of anonymity to describe the sequence of events without imperiling themselves and their own families in Afghanistan.
Heineman and producer Caitlin McNally told The Post at the time that they had “no recollection” of warnings and that it would be “deeply wrong” to blame the film for the man’s death. After being contacted by The Post with questions about the film, National Geographic and its owner, Disney, removed “Retrograde” from streaming services.
National Geographic did not respond to a request for comment. Heineman and McNally referred a request for comment to Theodore Boutrous Jr., a First Amendment attorney who represents them and who has also represented journalism organizations, including The Post.
“The RTDNA says that it ‘conducted its own review … into the filmmaking process’ but you have to be deeply skeptical about the nature and thoroughness of that review, given that no one ever even contacted the filmmakers who produced ‘Retrograde’ in a manner fully consistent with long-standing journalistic values,” Boutrous said in an email Sunday. “The RTDNA’s action is inexplicable and irresponsible.”
Sheryl Worsley, chair of the RTDNA board of directors, disputed the assertion that Heineman was not contacted, saying in an email to The Post on Sunday that an “RTDNA staff person reached out to Mr. Heineman via email on June 10, 2024, as part of the review process. No response from Mr. Heineman as a result of this outreach was ever received.” The Post has reviewed the June email.
Worsley also said via email Sunday that “RTDNA did connect with National Geographic and other individuals associated with the filmmaking process during their review.” The email did not specify which individuals.
On its website, the news association says its board of directors “received background information” about “Retrograde” following publication of The Post’s article in May, but it does not go into detail. “This decision was not made lightly and occurred only after an RTDNA-led review into the procedures and practices associated with the filmmaking process,” Worsley said in an initial statement emailed Friday to the Post.
The RTDNA board did not explain its reasoning for taking back the honor, which was awarded to National Geographic in October 2023 in the network feature-length documentary category.
The Murrow awards require adherence to RTDNA’s code of ethics, which includes a section on “accountability for consequences.”
“Responsible reporting means considering the consequences of both the news gathering — even if the information is never made public — and of the material’s potential dissemination,” the ethics code states. “Certain stakeholders deserve special consideration; these include children, victims, vulnerable adults and others inexperienced with American media.”
RTDNA’s staff knows of no other instance of the organization rescinding an award on the basis of issues related to the reporting since it began handing them out in 1971, according to an email to The Post. In 2020, the New York Times voluntarily returned an award it had received for the narrative podcast series “Caliphate” after discovering discrepancies in its own reporting. The association also once rescinded an award on a technicality after learning the work had been submitted in the wrong category.
In April, National Geographic removed the documentary from all of its platforms, including the Hulu streaming service, after The Post sought comment on whether the documentary endangered its subjects. A spokesman for National Geographic, which produced the film under a joint agreement with Disney, said in a written statement that the company was acting in “an abundance of caution.”
According to The Post’s reporting, at least five people — three active-duty U.S. military personnel and two former Green Berets — warned the filmmakers before “Retrograde’s” December 2022 cable and streaming debuts that they could be putting Afghans who were hired to work with the U.S. military in danger by showing their faces in the documentary. At that time, there had already been hundreds of documented Taliban revenge killings of Afghans who worked for the U.S. military and their family members. Those issuing warnings considered the Afghans shown in the film to be in greater danger because of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 — about eight months after filming began in Helmand Province.
As many as eight Afghan contractors whose faces were shown in the film are still in the region and remain in peril, according to the 1208 Foundation, a charitable organization that specializes in evacuating Afghans who cleared mines for U.S. forces.
While The Post was preparing to publish a story on warnings received by the filmmakers, two congressmen — Jared Moskowitz (D-Florida), and retired Green Beret and Afghanistan war veteran Michael Waltz (R-Florida) — called the documentary “a de facto target list” in a letter to the State Department that asked for expedited handling of visas for the men depicted in the film.
In a statement, the film’s director and producer said: “The U.S. government’s precipitous withdrawal from Afghanistan and the vengeful actions of the Taliban upon taking power — armed with detailed information identifying Afghans who worked with the U.S. government — led to the deaths of countless partners left behind. That is the tragic story that warrants attention. But any attempt to blame ‘Retrograde’ because the film showed faces of individuals in war zones — as has long been standard in ethical conflict reporting — would be deeply wrong.”
Military officials signed off on “Retrograde” before its release per its agreement with Heineman’s company, a fact that the director has pointed to in defending the decision to show the faces of the Afghans. According to The Post’s reporting, military officials interpreted the contract to say that they only had the right to ask for changes involving the depiction of U.S. forces. Still, they felt compelled to warn the filmmakers anyway.
“Concern about Afghan partners and faces being blurred was raised,” said Charlie Crail, the 10th Special Forces Group media officer assigned to the project. Crail recalled telling the filmmakers: “You guys need to do your due diligence before you release this movie to make sure as many of these guys are out [of Afghanistan] as possible.”
Clips of “Retrograde” — which went on to win three Emmys, for cinematography, editing and current affairs documentary, and the Murrow journalism award and was shortlisted for an Oscar — began circulating on TikTok in Afghanistan shortly after its National Geographic Channel and Hulu debuts. A spokesperson for the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences — which awards the Emmys — said in a statement that the academy has “had no cause” to revoke the awards. Specifically addressing the current affairs category, the spokesperson said “Retrograde” “was consistent with” rules and policies in place as of the applicable competition year.”
One Afghan mine-clearer in “Retrograde,” whom the Green Berets had given the nickname “Justin Bieber,” was captured by the Taliban within weeks of the clips appearing on TikTok and died in April 2023 after undergoing surgeries to repair wounds he received while being tortured, according to an interpreter who spoke to him and agreed to be interviewed by The Post on the condition of anonymity to protect family members in the region.
The Post’s story about “Retrograde” prompted discussion in entertainment industry circles about the responsibilities of filmmakers in war zones.
“In making this film, did it not occur to anyone that it might be putting people in Afghanistan in danger?” Blair Foster, a producer of the Oscar-winning documentary “Taxi to the Dark Side,” told Variety. “Everyone is pointing the finger at each other. The military is pointing to Heineman, Heineman is pointing to the military. Frankly, I think everyone is culpable.”
Hope Hodge Seck and Alice Crites contributed to this report.