Alumna Erika Stevenson’s powerful talk on filming in a war zone – a story of courage, cameras and conflict
Earlier this week, on one of the hottest days of the year so far, students at Kingsley were transported to the rugged peaks of the Hindu Kush and the remote villages of 1980s Afghanistan, as former pupil Erika Stevenson gave a truly captivating lunchtime talk in the library. Nearly 50 students from Years 7 to 12 packed into the space to hear about Erika’s extraordinary experiences as a pioneering cinematographer, adventurer, and storyteller.
Erika, a full-time Kingsley boarder from the age of eight, spoke about her courageous 1987 expedition to Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan War. At a time when few women worked behind the camera, and fewer still in war zones. Erika crossed the closed border from Pakistan at night, disguised in Afghan clothing, and spent four weeks walking over the Hindu Kush mountains – reaching heights of 5,500 metres – with a small film crew. Their goal was to document the impact of war on the lives of ordinary Afghan people, including women.
The journey, as Erika recounted, was anything but easy. There were no mobile phones, no contact with home, and no safety net. The group faced tough physical conditions: no toilets or showers, limited food, and nights sleeping rough in dangerous territory. Erika, a vegetarian at the time, had to adapt to eating meat to survive, often witnessing animals being slaughtered before being cooked. Water came from rivers, made safe only by purification tablets. The heavy, bulky 16mm camera and sound equipment, rolls of film, lenses and batteries were carried on horses through the unforgiving terrain.
Students were particularly fascinated by some of the vivid anecdotes Erika shared. Locals, many of whom had never seen a camera before, were terrified, mistaking the bulky equipment for a weapon. The crew cleverly used a small Polaroid camera to show villagers what photography was, eventually gaining their trust. At one point, Erika was shot at after sneaking out at night to “find a toilet” in a nearby maize field. Later, as the crew tried to leave Afghanistan, they were detained for four days by tribal authorities in Pakistan.
Despite these dangers, Erika described the experience as life-changing – a rare and humbling insight into a community surviving under extreme hardship, and a deeply formative chapter in her career. Her bravery, humour, and grit were truly inspiring.
Erika’s career has spanned decades, working with the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and other major broadcasters on documentaries, dramas and pop promos. She was one of just three women cinematographers in British television at the time, often filming in conflict zones and politically tense environments such as Namibia under apartheid and Beirut during the civil war. A founder member of both the UK’s first rape crisis centre and the Women’s Film, Television and Video Network, Erika has consistently championed women’s voices and stories throughout her life.
We were honoured to welcome Erika back to Kingsley, where her creative journey first began. Her talk was not only an extraordinary insight into global history, filmmaking and resilience – it was a powerful reminder that determination, curiosity, and courage can take you anywhere. Her adventurous spirit and pursuit of truth embody the values of our school, and we are proud to count her among our distinguished alumnae.