An introduction

Sean Langan

British journalist Sean Langan made his name by travelling to many of the world's trouble-spots armed with just a camera.

In 1997 he travelled to Kashmir to investigate the disappearance of four hostages, which resulted in Nightmare in Paradise. and has first-hand experience of filming with Islamic extremists fighting in the name of Jihad.

With his BBC series Langan Behind the Lines he journeyed extensively in the Middle East to investigate the Taliban, Iraq and Gaza, while Langan in Latin America examined the impact of globalisation.

In 2004, after George W Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq, he set out to discover the truth of the president's statement.

In 2006 he investigated the new freedoms for women in Afghanistan - walking in public without a male relative, working, voting and getting a driving licence - Afghan Ladies Driving School.

In 2008 Sean was kidnapped in Afghanistan whilst shooting a follow-up to his award-winning Channel 4 film Meeting the Taliban. The remote location meant it took three weeks until his absence was picked up by Channel 4.

Sean (who had to endure a number of mock exections) was held hostage for 3 months in the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan before he was finally released...

Sean Langan is a film-maker who's often managed to go where other film-makers fear to, or are unable to, tread. In Langan in Iraq he was one of the first filmmakers to document the Iraqi insurgency, and in Tea With the Taliban he got the first TV interviews with the Taliban. Fighting the Taleban saw him get a very rare embed with British forces in Afghanistan." - Intelligent Factual Festival