The Etilaat Roz, a documentary film by Abbass Rezaie which portrays the aftermath of Kabul’s fall for a team of journalists at the daily Etilaatroz newspaper, has won the award of the World’s Organization Against Torture (OMCT) at the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (FIDFH) in Geneva, Switzerland.
“It reminds us that brave people fighting for human rights are still under threat in #Afghanistan. Let’s not forget them,” the OMCT said about the film, describing it as “an immersive documentary” in a newsroom at the time of Taliban’s takeover of Kabul.
Gerald Staberock, the OMCT’s Secretar-General, said The Etilaat Roz documentary was a film about the history, people, courage, being journalists, and about the decision to leave the country.
“Incredibly proud to hand our prize at the @fifdh to Abbas Rezaie for Etilaat Roz,” he said in a tweet, adding that the film said “the lights on Afghanistan have to stay on”.
In November 2022, the documentary was awarded the best first feature film of the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival (IDFA). Moreover, it has been so far premiered in several international film festivals in Asia, Europe, and America.
