For filmmaker Atiq Rahimi's father, who fled Afghanistan in the 1960s, his country long ago lost its first letter. Now it is only "fghanistan," which translates as "the land of cries and screams." Rahimi interviews intellectuals, ministers, and even the exiled king, seeking answers about why and how his land became cursed. The interviews are complemented with historic audio recordings and rarely seen archival footage from the sixties and seventies, beautiful super-8 images from a long-ago past that unveil cityscapes more vibrant and contemporary than the dreamless, gun-filled landscapes that unfortunately make up Afghanistan's present.