13th UNHCR Refugee Film Festival – School Partners TUJ to screen “Sonita”

Temple University, Japan Campus (TUJ) will host “The 13th UNHCR Refugee Film Festival (RFF) — School Partners” screening of the award-winning documentary “Sonita” on March 1. This is the second time TUJ has participated in this event.

The UNHCR RFF promotes understanding of refugees through film screenings. TUJ participated in the UNHCR RFF for the first time in 2017 as part of TUJ’s 35th anniversary events. This year the screening will be carried out in conjunction with TUJ’s annual spring semester Student Film Festival, which is produced by students in Communication Studies. The screenings for both festivals are open to the public, as well as to TUJ students, faculty and staff.

Movie: “Sonita” (Iran, Germany, Switzerland / 2015 / 91 min. / documentary)

2016 Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award for Best World Cinema Documentary

Sonita fled from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan to Iran with some of her relatives, while her parents remained. As she attended school at a shelter in Tehran, she dreamed of becoming a famous rapper. However, her parents wanted to arrange a marriage for her. They were tempted by the 9,000 dollars they could get the marriage, and wanted to use that money for their son’s marriage. On top of all the adversity, women are banned from becoming solo singers in Iran, but Sonita wanted to choose her own destiny and challenge her fate.

For more information: http://unhcr.refugeefilm.org/2016/en/sonita/

UNHCR Refugee Film Festival — Partners — Screening Event
Date: Friday, March 1, 2019
Time: 14:10-16:10 (doors open at 13:40)
Venue: Temple University, Japan Campus, Azabu Hall 1st floor “The Parliament” (Access)
Admission: Free  (Open to the public and TUJ students, faculty and staff. No need to register.
Organized by: Temple University, Japan Campus
Supported by: UNHCR Representation in Japan / Japan for UNHCR
Note: Film with English and Japanese subtitles. (The event will be held in English.)

About the Documentary — “Sonita”
Trailor - https://youtu.be/B47MbpPuz7A
Region: Iran, Germany, Switzerland
Directors: Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami
Year of production: 2015
Mins: 91 min.
Category: Documentary
Language: English, Farsi with Japanese subtitles