Afghan Director Roya Sadat Will Attend Red Sea Festival After Airline Initially Denied Entry to Saudi Arabia (EXCLUSIVE)
After an airline denied her entry into Saudi Arabia to present her film “Sima’s Song,” which is playing in competition at the Red Sea Film Festival, Afghan filmmaker Roya Sadat is now set to visit the Red Sea Film Festival.
“On Wednesday, the 4th, I was stopped at Dallas Airport and prevented from boarding my flight to Jeddah,” Sadat said in a statement emailed to Variety. “The airline claimed that Saudi Arabia does not accept extended Afghan passports. Extended passports are issued by Afghan embassies abroad and are not recognized by the Taliban, as these embassies operate independently of their control. The Taliban have requested that countries reject these passports, but since countries do not recognize the Taliban as a legitimate authority, they do accept them.”
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A representative from the Red Sea Film Festival didn’t respond to comment. It’s not clear why the airline initially denied her entry, but the situation has now been resolved.
“I was shocked when the airline representative stated that Saudi Arabia does not accept extended Afghan passports,” Sadat said. “Many Afghans travel to Mecca every year, and for most of them, this is the only type of passport they possess. Today, I received a call from the festival organizers informing me that the issue had been resolved and that I would be able to travel with the same visa. I’m relieved because this confirms that the situation was a mistake on the part of the airline. It also reassures me that Saudi Arabia aligns with the majority of nations and therefore accepts passports and their extension issued by Afghan embassies, not under Taliban control.”
“I want to express my heartfelt thanks to the Red Sea Film Festival for their incredible support in resolving this matter,” Sadat said.
Sadat’s film “Sima’s Song” is playing in competition at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival.
Sadat, in an email to Variety, said she was scheduled to travel to Jeddah, the Saudi city on the Red Sea’s eastern shore where the fest is being held, on Dec. 3 to participate and present her film. “But I was denied boarding because Saudi Arabia does not accept Afghan passports renewed after the Taliban’s return to power,” she claimed.
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.
Naman Ramachandran contributed to this report
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