Afghan Director Roya Sadat Denounces Denied Entry Into Saudi to Present ‘Sima’s Song’ at Red Sea Fest, Claims the Taliban, Holding Same Passport, Got In (EXCLUSIVE)
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent Prominent Afghan director Roya Sadat, whose latest film “Sima’s Song” is playing in competition at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival, is denouncing being denied entry into the kingdom to present the film, despite having been issued a Saudi visa.
Sadat, in an email to Variety, said she was scheduled to travel to Jeddah, the Saudi city on the Red Sea’s eastern shore where the fest is being held, on Dec.
3 to participate and present her film. “But I was denied boarding because Saudi Arabia does not accept Afghan passports renewed after the Taliban’s return to power,” she added. “This raises a key question: if such passports are not accepted, why issue visas in the first place?,” Sadat went on to point out. “Was the visa granted, only to be rejected later?
Despite repeated calls to Jeddah, I was ultimately not allowed to travel,” she noted. Representatives for the Red Sea Film Festival did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation and comment.
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