Sahraa Karimi
Sahraa Karimi (or Sughra Karimi; born 20 April 1981) is an Afghan film director who was the first female chairperson of the Afghan Film Organization (also known as Afghan Film). She has directed 30 short films, 3 documentary films and one fiction film Hava, Maryam, Ayesha which had its world premier at the 76th Venice Film Festival. Prior to the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, she was the first and, as of 2021, only woman to be directing Afghanistan's film entity.
Sahraa Karimi

ChandC · CC BY 3.0
- Name
- Sahraa Karimi
- Born
- 20 April 1981
- Birthplace
- Tehran, Iran
- Occupation
- Film director, Screenwriter, Film editor, Women rights activist
- Known for
- *First female general director of Afghan Film in 2019
- Nationality
- Afghanistan
- Education
- Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava
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Sahraa Karimi (or Sughra Karimi; born 20 April 1981) is an Afghan film director who was the first female chairperson of the Afghan Film Organization (also known as Afghan Film). She has directed 30 short films, 3 documentary films and one fiction film Hava, Maryam, Ayesha which had its world premier at the 76th Venice Film Festival. Prior to the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, she was the first and, as of 2021, only woman to be directing Afghanistan's film entity.
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Authority files
wikidata · Q67184427 · wikipedia · Sahraa Karimi
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Sahraa Karimi • Native Name — صحرا کریمی • Born — 20 April 1981 • Birthplace — Tehran, Iran • Occupation — Film director, Screenwriter, Film editor, Women rights activist • Known for — *First female general director of Afghan Film in 2019 • Directing Hava, Maryam, Ayesha (2019) • Height — 170 cm
Background
Background
Karimi was born and raised in Iran to Afghan refugee parents. Her father belongs to Pashtun (AliZai) ethnic group from Kandahar, who has emigrated to district of Bandar, Daykundi Province. She has received a PhD degree in the field of Cinema (Fiction Film Directing & Screenwriting) from the Film and Television Faculty of the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Bratislava, Light Breeze, a short fiction she made during her time in the academy, went on to win as the Best Short Fiction Film at the Sun in a Net Awards (the highest film awards in Slovakia). Her first professional work was a documentary, Searching for Dream, which was exhibited at the Dhaka International Film Festival in 2006. Her other notable works include Afghan Women behind the Wheel, which won around 20 awards at major film festivals, including Academy awards in Slovakia and the best documentary film award at the 13th Dhaka International Film Festival. In 2019, she directed the film Hava, Maryam, Ayesha, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for an Orizzonti/ Horizon Prize (award for Best Film). Karimi was the leading organizer of protests against Kabul Municipality's plans to demolish the once famous Cinema Park in the city. She and cultural activists and filmmakers were against the destruction of the 1950s cinema that fell into disarray, calling it "catastrophic" to the city's culture and history. The demolition went ahead in November 2020 and Karimi had to be forcibly moved by police from the cinema to allow it to take place. A photo of her weeping as the demolishers came went viral on social media. In August 2021, following the fall of Kabul to Taliban, she mentioned: "I went to the bank to get some money; they closed and evacuated. I still cannot believe this happened", adding, "They are coming to kill us". Later, she was evacuated from Kabul to Kyiv, Ukraine along with 11 individuals, thereafter writing: "My dear friends do not worry, I am fine and safe". Later that year Karimi settled in Italy and in 2022 started teaching as a visiting professor at the National School of Cinema in Rome.
Works
Works
• Hava, Maryam, Ayesha (2019) • Parlika (2016) • Afghan Women Behind the Wheel (2009)
Identity
Identity
Sahraa Karimi is recorded as film director.

Sahraa KARIMI lors de la présentation de son film Hava, Maryam, Ayesha
Christophe DELORME
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority file
reference work
- “Sahraa Karimi”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q67184427: Sahraa Karimi
Unverified · Wikidata
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Sahraa Karimi CV. ALEF.
- 2.Sahraa Karimi. Asia Peace Film Festival.
- 3.صحرا کریمی. ویکیپدیا، دانشنامهٔ آزاد. 2025-01-27.
- 4.Lismore Regional Gallery. The Force of Forgetting. 19 March – 23 April 2011.
- 5.Sahra, Karimi. Sahra Karimi CV. alefjo.com.
- 6.Atakpal, Haseba. Sahraa Karimi To Lead Afghan Film As First Female Chairperson. TOLOnews. 19 May 2019.
- 7.Vourlias, Christopher. Filmmaker Sahraa Karimi Defies Odds With Kabul-Set Drama 'Hava, Maryam, Ayesha'. Variety. 30 August 2019.
- 8.Hamid, Tamim. Angelina Jolie Describes Sahraa Karimi's Appointment As Historic. TOLOnews. 19 May 2019.
- 9.Mehmood, Arshad. Exclusive: Afghanistan Appoints Woman to Head State-run Film Company. The Media Line. 21 May 2019.
- 10.Welle, Deutsche. Escape from Kabul: Afghan director Sahraa Karimi recounts her experience. Frontline.
- 11.s.r.o, Appio Digital. Sahraa Karimi DOKweb. dokweb.net.
- 12.Parlika. Bratislava International Film Festival.
- 13.Chatak, Hasan Mansoor. Sahraa Karimi: Woman's storytelling technique varies greatly from that of a man's. Dhaka Tribune. 11 January 2014.
- 14.Frater, Patrick. Venice: Angelina Jolie Gives Shout-Out to Afghan Film 'Hava, Maryam, Ayesha'. Variety. 6 September 2019.
- 15.Sheva, Mohammad Arif. Sahraa Karimi 'Sorry' for Demolition of Cinema Park, Unable to Change Gov't Decision. The Khaama Press News Agency. 10 November 2020.
- 16.Going to the cinema is 'a message of solidarity'. BBC News.
- 17.Cinema Park: Filmmakers mourn as 70-year-old Afghan cinema is demolished. 29 November 2020.
- 18.Afghan filmmaker Sahraa Karimi's video of running around Kabul goes viral: 'They are coming to kill us'. Independent. 17 August 2021.
- 19.Afghan Filmmaker Sahraa Karimi Says She Has Been Evacuated From Kabul. Deadline. 17 August 2021.
- 20.Afghan film director recounts escape from Kabul. Reuters. 18 August 2021.
- 21.The Taliban fear the power of art: filmmaker Sahraa Karimi - La Prensa Latina Media.
- 22.Interview with Sahraa Karimi, Film Director and Scriptwriter. GlobalCampus of Human Rights.
- 23.Vourlias, Christopher. Filmmaker Sahraa Karimi Defies Odds With Kabul-Set Drama 'Hava, Maryam, Ayesha'. Variety. 30 August 2019.
- 24.Parlika. Bratislava International Film Festival.
References
Citations
References
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authority file
VIAF cluster 19170000437571902078 for Sahraa Karimi, aggregating national library name authorities.OCLC
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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