Sonita
Directed by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghemi
Iran/Germany/Switzerland | Farsi/Dari/English w/ English subtitles | Documentary | 2015 | 90 min
Film Source: Women Make Movies
Grand Jury Prize & Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary – Sundance Film Festival
Recently nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary
Sonita is a teenage girl, a rapper, an Afghan refugee living in Iran, and, in her mind, a star. The young girls she meets find their voices through her music and are wowed by the power and confidence she exudes. Eventually even the film’s director, Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami, finds herself drawn in as part of her subject’s story, blurring the boundaries and making the audience question who is in control. Although the subject is timely, serious and heart wrenching — especially as Sonita’s family threatens to sell her into marriage — the film always manages to be upbeat and inspirational, due to the magnetism of its subject. This movie won’t likely be the last we see of Sonita.