This year, as you thumb through the Sundance Film Festival guide to chose which films to see, consider Sonita, an entry in the World Cinema Documentary competition that follows an assertive young woman from Afghanistan who dreams of becoming a rap singer. Living in exile in Iran, she makes a video with friends called “Brides for Sale” after she learns she is about to be sold into marriage so her brother can afford to buy a wife. She is 16. The video goes viral. Sonita, the woman, quickly gains international attention for her music and her outspoken stance against child brides. Along the way, she is offered a full scholarship to a private high school in Utah. (Sonita Alizadeh is currently a student at Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah.)
The film is, on one hand, an intimate look at one girl who bravely, and respectfully, rejects the sexist social expectations of her culture and, on the other, a wider look at the powerless situation of many women in today’s world. The 91-minute film will be shown six times throughout the festival.
Interview with Sonita: YouTube.com/watch?v=hvEMtDbaBSc
More January 2016 Comings & Goings:
SL Chiropractic welcomes Angie Binkerd
Waldorf school opening, August 2016
State-of-the-art Public Safety Building
Sensory deprivation tanks—the latest cure-all?
Utah company, Healthy Hemp Pets, makes CBD-rich dog biscuits