By Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami
SONITA tells the inspiring story of Sonita Alizadeh, an 18-year-old Afghan refugee in Iran, who thinks of Michael Jackson and Rihanna as her spiritual parents and dreams of becoming a big-name rapper. For the time being, her only fans are the other teenage girls in a Tehran shelter. And her family has a very different future planned for her: as a bride she's worth $9,000. Iranian director Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami (GOING UP THE STAIRS) poignantly shifts from observer to participant altering expectations, as Sonita's story unfolds in this personal and joyful portrait. An intimate portrait of creativity and womanhood, SONITA highlights the rarely seen intricacies and shifting contrasts of Iranian society through the lens of an artist who is defining the next generation.
Awards
~ Sundance Film Festival, Grand Jury Prize - World Documentary and Audience Award - World Documentary
~ IDFA, Audience Award and DOC U Award
~ Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, The Center for Documentary Studies Filmmaker Award
~ Sarasota Film Festival, Best In World Cinema Audience Award
~ True/False Film Festival, True Life Fund Award
~ Sheffield Doc/Fest, Youth Jury Award
~ One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, AVAST Foundation Audience Award
~ Montclair Film Festival, Audience Award, MFF Junior Jury Special Jury Prize for Social Justice
~ Mammoth Lakes Film Festival, Jury Award, Best Feature Documentary
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