Afghan Director Roya Sadat Battles Exile, Taliban Rule to Complete Tokyo Bound ‘Sima’s Song’: ‘Women Have Fewer Rights Than a Convict’

Roya Sadat‘s latest feature “Sima’s Song,” world premiering at the Tokyo International Film Festival, chronicles a pivotal moment in Afghanistan‘s history through the lens of two college students in 1978.

The drama follows a wealthy Communist and a poor Muslim woman as they navigate the country’s socialist transition, Soviet invasion and the emergence of anti-Soviet resistance movements.

A pioneering figure in Afghan cinema, Sadat’s career spans the turbulent evolution of filmmaking in her homeland, from writing her first screenplay during the initial Taliban regime – when screening movies could result in public lashings – to becoming one of Afghanistan’s most prominent directors.

Through Roya Film House, which she established in Kabul, Sadat gained recognition for producing television series and features that tackle complex social issues. Her feature “A Letter to the President” was Afghanistan’s entry to the Oscars in the days when the country used to submit.

Shot in Greece after Taliban control forced a dramatic relocation from Kabul, “Sima’s Song” emerged from Sadat’s determination to challenge oversimplified narratives about Afghan women’s struggles.

“Global history has largely ignored our stories, reducing Afghanistan to a narrative of war, extremism and fundamentalism,” Sadat tells Variety. “Many people believe that Afghan women’s struggles only began in 2001 with international support, but that is far from the truth.”

The project, developed through European film markets, secured backing for Roya Film House from multiple international producers including Alba Sotorra (Spain), BALDR Film (Netherlands), Urban Factory (France), Volos Films (Taiwan) and Homemade Films (Greece).

The production faced extraordinary challenges when the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021. Sadat, who was in Seattle working on an opera at the time, suddenly found herself in exile with just two suitcases, while her film company’s resources remained in Kabul.

“We were left asking, where could we film?” Sadat recalls. “Everything had been planned and paid for in Kabul, but Kabul was no longer the city we once knew, let alone the Kabul of 1978 where our story takes place.”

With funding deadlines looming and after navigating complex immigration hurdles, Sadat secured temporary permission to leave the U.S. The production relocated to Greece, where the team had just four and a half months to complete filming with a cast of exiled actors gathered from various countries.

The film arrives as Afghanistan faces renewed restrictions on artistic expression. “Today, as I’m having this conversation, I received news that the Taliban have now banned images of any living being from television,” Sadat notes. “Imagine a country with a rich, ancient history of civilization and culture, now enduring such dark days under the control of fundamentalists – days when women have fewer rights than even a convicted prisoner.”

Following its Tokyo premiere, “Sima’s Song” will be handled internationally by Pluto Film.

Despite the challenges of making films in exile, Sadat remains committed to storytelling, with a musical film among her upcoming projects. “Especially now, when we are engaged in an unequal battle against extremism and fundamentalism, the voice of our art must be louder and clearer,” she says. “Our stories need to reach the world.”

“Now, more than ever, we need to unite our voices,” Sadat adds. “The world has turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to what is happening to Afghan women. Perhaps this film can create awareness and invite the audience to join this collective call for solidarity through a shared sense of empathy.”