Sahraa Karimi’s “Flight From Kabul” Wins at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

Consortium scholar Sahraa Karimi was awarded the Works in Development Award from the 2023 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival for her film project, Flight From Kabul. The film, which is based on her own experience fleeing the Taliban, received €10,000 to aid in further development. The financial award is funded jointly by the MIDPOINT Institute, Barrandov Studio, and the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and aims to support emerging talents in the further development of their feature-film projects.

A statement from the jury selecting Flight From Kabul reads: “For its bold vision, political audaciousness and enterprising storytelling, the Works in Development Award goes to a project that explores a people and place seldom seen on screen; a people and place that have been let down by Western politicians who stood idle as the powers of darkness ventured to ravage it in front of the apathetic, complacent eyes of the world.”

Sahraa Karimi a University in Exile Consortium for Afghan Artists Fellow being hosted by the School of Media Studies at The New School. She is an acclaimed filmmaker who has enjoyed international success in her career as a groundbreaking screenwriter, director, and professor. She is the first woman ever to head Afghan Films as its Director-General. Karimi’s filmography includes works such as Afghan Women behind the Wheel (2009), and Hava, Maryam, Ayesha (2019).