Nazila Azizi, an Afghan-born architect turned filmmaker who fled Kabul during the Taliban takeover, has directed the documentary "LineOut," now on an Oscar-qualifying run in Los Angeles. Rather than offering a conventional account of the evacuation, the film uses magical realism to explore the psychological experience of Afghan refugees forced to leave home, treating "home" itself as a character rather than a place.

The documentary opens with mobile phone footage Azizi shot while escaping Afghanistan, but develops through poetic, anthropomorphised narration voiced by actress Anousha, who was born in Shiraz, Iran, and has her own history of displacement. Azizi said she began writing the narration as personal therapy, coming to see home as a woman speaking to her. The film's imagery of turbulent seas alludes to migrants who have died attempting Mediterranean crossings, with reports citing more than 50 Afghan deaths this year alone while fleeing Taliban rule.