Afghanistanian filmmaker Roya Sadat has received an international award at the International Film Festival of South Asia (IFFSA) in Toronto for her latest work, Sima`s Song.

Sadat, one of Afghanistan`s most acclaimed directors, was honored for her contributions to cinema and her continued storytelling under challenging circumstances.

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This marks another milestone in Sadat`s decorated career. In 2018, she received an award regarded as an alternative to the Oscars for her film A Letter to the President. That recognition was presented at a ceremony co-hosted by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Security Council.

Sadat Born in Herat in 1981. At age 20, Sadat directed her first feature, "Three Dots," written in secret during the Taliban era, about a young widow who is pressured to marry an in-law.
In 2003, Sadat founded Roya Film House to tell compelling stories about Afghanistan. In more than 30 documentaries, films, and television shows, Sadat has not shied away from depicting the brutal injustices of life for Afghan women. In 2013, she founded the Afghanistan International Women`s Film Festival to promote women filmmakers and the empowerment of Afghan women through art. Sadat`s most recent work, "A Letter to the President," tells the story of a strong-willed woman who is sentenced to death after accidentally killing her abusive husband.