Afghan filmmaker Roya Sadat has won this year's Interfilm Academy’s One Future Prize at the 36th international Munich Film Festival (Filmfest Munchen) for her movie "A Letter to the President".
The award ceremony was held on Saturday in Munich.
The jury, comprised of Navina Neverla, Verena Marisa, and Tomasz Rudzik, explained its decision in these words: "'A Letter to the President' is a moving, utterly sophisticated film that tells of the contradictions in the Afghan legal system and the inequality of men and women ten years after the official withdrawal of the Taliban.
“This film tells the story of an unflinchingly strong woman who, in spite of all adversity and deeply rooted patriarchal structures, is prepared to stand up for her own freedom as well as for that of other women. An immediate, convincing story given lots of atmosphere, written dramatically, acted and directed superbly, and told in the sensitive images of classical narrative cinema, 'A Letter to the President' tells of one woman's struggle against deeply rooted prejudice and overpowering patriarchal structures.
“Her integrity and her courage to resist are an example to us all. All this is told by the equally brave young Afghan director Roya Sadat, the first female practitioner of her craft in the post-Taliban era."
The One Future Prize has been presented since 1986 to the film that, ethically as well as aesthetically, shows that our world has one common future.