We are honored to inform you that the “2021 KIMDAEJUNG Nobel Peace Film Award” goes to Roya Sadat in praise of her effort to promote democracy, human rights, and peace through Art of motion pictures, and also, in recognition of her valuable cinematic works and the semantic and artistic approach in her socially critical films, like “Playing the Taar”, “A Letter to the President”, which addresses important human rights issues.
The award ceremony was held at the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kim Dae-jung Memorial Hall in Gwangju City, Korea on December 16th at 7:00 PM (Korean time).
Kim Dae Jung Nobel Peace Film Award is part of the international Peace Film festival program. Kim Dae-jung was a South Korean statesman and activist who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democracy and human rights in South Korea and in East Asia in general, and for peace and reconciliation with North Korea and Japan. He was sometimes referred to as “the Nelson Mandela of Asia” Kim was the first opposition candidate to win the presidency.
Roya Sadat's Message on the pretext of 2021 KIMDAEJUNG Nobel Peace Film Award:
“In our dark days, I'm getting this important film award… at a time which I'm not allowed to make a film in my country. Art and culture, especially cinema, is completely shut down.
At a time, which people of my country are suffering poverty and hunger, women are excluded from society, artists are in exile and the voice of freedom is silent.
And we are moving towards an unknown future, and perhaps the world is silently waiting for a greater catastrophe.
From here, I would like to ask the international institutions and film festivals to be the voice of Afghan women who do not have the right to study and work nowadays in my country…to support and not leave them alone, in the hope for a free and prosperous Afghanistan. To support for a better tomorrow in which there is no threat of fundamentalism and extremism…
As you know, human rights are being violated in the worst possible way in Afghanistan at the moment, people do not have their most basic rights and women suffer the most.
I thank the institutions and individuals who stand by the people of Afghanistan, especially the women of Afghanistan, and stand up for their rights.”
