Oppression and the crushing dynamics of traditional gender roles are the focus of Roya Sadat’s drama A Letter to the President. In this film set in an Islamic state, Soraya (Leena Alam) is married to Karim, raising two children, and serving as the head of the Kabul Crime Division. Her work is mentally and physically time-consuming, a reality that Karim cannot stand. Soraya’s father-in-law, shares his son’s sentiments, and we are witness to the instances of belittlement and violence that Soraya endures. But endure she does, and it is a last act of defiance during an altercation with Karim that changes her life forever. In the aftermath, she writes a letter to a fictional President of Afghanistan, laying her story bare. As tragic as Soraya’s journey may be, it is her inner strength and intellect that echo throughout the film and long after.
Director Biography
Filmmaker and producer Roya Sadat was born in Herat, Afghanistan in 1983. She is known as the first woman director to come out of Afghanistan after the Taliban. Her first feature-film was Three Dots (’03) and she has produced both short film and television.
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