Sonita (film)

Sonita is a 2015 German-Iranian-Swiss documentary film directed by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami. The film follows the life of Sonita Alizadeh, an Afghan teenage refugee living in Tehran, Iran, who aspires to be a rapper despite societal and familial pressures against her pursuing her artistic ambitions.

The documentary chronicles Sonita's struggles to overcome cultural traditions that pressure her into an arranged marriage for financial gain. It depicts her using her rap music to voice her opposition to child marriage and to advocate for girls' rights.

Sonita gained significant recognition for its powerful storytelling and its critical examination of social issues. It won several awards, including the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Documentary Competition. The film has been praised for its depiction of female empowerment and its exploration of the intersection of art, activism, and cultural norms. Furthermore, the film explores the ethical dilemmas faced by documentary filmmakers when they become involved in the lives of their subjects. Ghaem Maghami intervened in Sonita's life, paying her family money to delay the arranged marriage, sparking debate about the boundaries of documentary ethics.