WELCOME TO CANADA | ONGOING FUNDRAISER
Help Saba Sahar and Her Family Find a New Home in Canada
Saba Sahar, a pioneering Afghan director, actress, and the nation’s first female police officer, survived a brutal Taliban assassination attempt in August 2020 after being shot four times. A powerful symbol of women’s rights and courage, she and her family of seven are now seeking asylum in Canada, unable to return to Afghanistan. I met Saba in 2004 during my workshop at the Academy of Fine Arts Kabul.
They need urgent support to cover the costs of the Canadian private sponsorship program and basic living expenses as they await resettlement.
Please support Sue Nelson’s campaign and help this resilient family secure their future:
Update 2025: After nearly five difficult years as refugees in Tajikistan, all but four of Saba’s family are now safely in Canada. But the fate of the remaining four is very uncertain.
Every donation helps them rebuild their lives in safety.
Nafisa Saba Sahar
Early Career & Theatre
- Saba Sahar obtained her baccalaureate from Ansari Balkhi Girls College in Kabul.
- Her initial engagement with acting began on school theatre open stages at the age of nine.
- In 1986, at the age of eleven, she was officially hired as an open stage drama performer at the Kabul Theatre Center, where she built her early acting career.
- In 1988, she was honored with the Best Open Stage Performer Award at Afghanistan’s National Open Stage Drama Festival.
Transition to Police & Film Management
- In 1990, Sahar joined the Ministry of Interior’s Cinema and Theatre Department as a performer. During this time, she completed her initial police training and became a police officer after nine months.
- In 1992, she was appointed as the Manager of the Cinema and Theatre Department at the Ministry of Interior, where she wrote numerous open stage dramas.
Filmmaking & Directing
- In 1999, she pursued academic studies at the Shafaq Film Institution and earned a national certificate in film directing.
- In 2002, she undertook an intensive film directing course at the Fine Arts Department of Kabul University, marking the beginning of her directorial career.
- In 2003, she established Saba Film Production Company (SFPC), becoming the first woman to launch a film production company in Afghanistan, marked by a large official ceremony in Kabul.
- Sahar has appeared in more than 36 short and feature films and has performed in over 80 open stage dramas.
Major Works & Appointments (2004–2011)
- 2004: Wrote, directed, and produced her first feature film. She was also appointed by the Ministry of Information and Culture as a delegation member for Afghanistan’s picture broadcasting observers.
- 2005: Appointed as a leader within Afghanistan’s cinema union and filmmaking community.
- 2005: Produced, directed, and wrote the feature film Oath (Sawgand). She also made the Pashto film Brightness After Darkness (Rana Di Toor Tam Pasi).
- 2007: Produced two films: The Rescue and The Monsters of the Death.
- 2008: Produced and directed the feature film My Life My Homeland (Tani Man Watani Man). She also produced and directed 25 documentary films titled Living in Cave (Sandagi Dar Magaraha).
- 2010: Produced a 15-episode drama series focused on the elimination of violence against women.
- 2011: Produced a 40-episode series drama titled Commissar Amanullah focusing on Afghan national police empowerment.
Awards and Recognition
- 1988: Best Open Stage Performer (Afghanistan National Theatrical Festival).
- 2005: Awarded the title of Best and First Afghan Woman Filmmaker and Director.
- 2005: Best Feature Film Award for Oath (Tajikistan Didar Film Festival).
- 2008: Special Award for the documentary Living in Cave (Safma Nepal Film Festival).
- 2008: Received numerous prizes for the Living in Cave documentary from organizations including GTZ, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Women Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, and various Afghan cinema and art institutions.
Mobile Cinema
- 2005: Produced, directed, and wrote the feature film Law (Qaboon), funded by the Ministry of Interior. It was broadcasted by the Saba Film mobile cinema screening team in over ten main provinces of Afghanistan.
- 2008: Produced, directed, and wrote the feature film The Rescue (Najat), funded by the GTZ organization. It was screened by the Saba Film mobile cinema screening team in over 17 provinces of Afghanistan.