Schedule

Sonita

18-year old Sonita is an Afghan refugee living in Iran. She is a rebel, pharmacy a woman who won’t submit, who won’t be sold. She wants to be a rap artist and with words as her weapons she fights for a world, where young girls won’t be sold as wives to old men. She is no stranger to forced marriage herself. Her family back in Afghanistan needs money desperately and her marriage would help the situation.

With her guts and talent, she manages to buy herself more time and continue pursuing her dreams. She is helped by a resourceful network of friends, who won’t leave her in trouble. One of them is the director Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami, does much more than just films the events.

This is a documentary for the women and it sings with a woman’s voice. It is a story of a woman singing about women’s rights in a country where women are forbidden to sing. This is also a documentary for the women, who have no hope for anything better. There are many of them among Sonita’s friends and she knows their pain. And this is also a film for the mothers. It echoes with a tradition that Sonita can’t respect, even when it is proclaimed by a person she loves almost unconditionally.

Suvi Annola / Translation: Tuomo Karvonen

Languages: Pashto, English, Persian
Subtitles: English

  • Director: Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami
  • Country: Iran, Germany, Switzerland
  • Year: 2015
  • Length: 90 min
  • Age limit: S
  • Format: DCP
  • Cinematography: Behrouz Badrouj, Ali Mohammad Ghasemi, Mohammad Haddadi, Arastoo Givi, Torben Bernard, Ala Mohseni, Parviz Arefi
  • Editing: Rune Schweitzer
  • Audio: Benjamin Benoit
  • Music: Moritz Denis
  • Production: Kerstin Krieg & Gerd Haag/Tag Traum, Aline Schmid/Intermezzo Films, Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami

Showtimes:

  • Cinema Artis hall 1: Saturday 30.01 - 18:00