A Woman Singing in the Desert Synopsis
Bustling around a fiery oven, a woman baker explains her struggles and highlights the multitude of complicated roles women play in Afghan society.
Directed by Alka Sadat in conjunction with Fondazione Pangea Onlus.
A Woman Singing in the Desert was an official selection of the 2016 WVN Online Film Festival.
About the Filmmaker
Alka Sadat, born in Herat, Afghanistan, studied cinema in Italy. She most recently won an award from the Aljazeera International Documentary Film Festival! 2011 (Public Liberties & Human Rights). She is currently Vice President of Roya Film House (RFH), an independent Afghan film company with a focus on human rights and host of the International Women’s Film Festival – Afghanistan. Sadat was a young child when the Taliban came to power. Her mother, not wanting her and her sister Roya to go uneducated, broke the law by teaching them at home. When the Taliban regime was abolished, Sadat started working with her sister making films, establishing the Roya Film House in 2003. Like her sister, Alka Sadat is a prolific filmmaker who has won numerous awards from several international film festivals. She has directed many films focused on women’s issues in Afghanistan. From 2012-2013, Sadat made three documentary films for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, which explored efforts by UN agencies and the international community to help rebuild the country and its institutions. Sadat most recently completed Afghanistan Night Story, a film about the elite Afghan Army commandos.
About the Collaborator
Fondazione Pangea Onlus is a nonprofit organization (est. 2002) that promotes the social and economic development of women and their families through basic education, human rights education, sanitary and reproductive health education, professional training, the creation of activities which generate income and micro finance.
This nonprofit, based in Italy, is based on the idea that women are a multiplier of well-being in the society. Currently, however, being a woman in the world often means being a victim of unstable political situations, religious laws, and social prejudice. Being a woman often means having no rights at all.
This is why Fondazione Pangea Onlus seeks to build the future livelihood and well-being for women in poor countries. We picture a world where women are not abused or discriminated, where they are the protagonists of their lives and destiny, a world where they can take part in their family and community decisions just like men do every day.
