Sonita
classified PG SPlease note: This was screened in Nov 2016
Winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize, Sonita is the tale of a feisty teenage refugee and aspiring rapper from Afghanistan who, after her mother announces an arranged marriage, upends the foundations of documentary filmmaking with a bold request to her filmmaker.
Sonita, a teenager, is a talented rapper and an indomitable force, in spite of all her obstacles she confronts in Iran and her conservative family. She is, however, an undocumented Afghan refugee in Tehran, and her family has other plans for her. In this gripping documentary, her dream of living abroad is about to come true just as her family plan on sending her back home to get married to a much older man who will give them a lump sum of money, which would allow Sonita’s brother to find a bride. While she must now attempt to overcome numerous personal and bureaucratic hurdles to avoid what seems inevitable, the film’s director, Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami, is also confronted with a dilemma: should she interfere to help her or let things unfold in front of her eyes and off the camera?