Sonia Nassery Cole is a filmmaker, author, human rights activist, and philanthropist
As a refugee, she fled from war-torn Afghanistan to the United States without her family at the age of fifteen. Cole made it her life’s mission to help others through telling stories. The medium she chose was film. Learn more.
Her award-winning films include “I Am You,” “The Black Tulip,” and “The Breadwinner”
Her latest independent feature, “I Am You,” was the official submission from Afghanistan for the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards and has won numerous film festivals (streaming on Amazon, Apple TV+, and iTunes). Her prior feature, “The Black Tulip,” was filmed in war-torn Afghanistan and was the official Oscar submission for Afghanistan (streaming on Amazon). Her short documentary, “The Breadwinner,” was also filmed in Afghanistan. Learn more.
Critically acclaimed and well-regarded
Sonia has been featured in The New York Times, Marie Claire, NBC, and ABC News. “Her life reads like a film plot: a diplomat’s daughter turned war refugee turned filmmaker sets out to save her country and give a voice to the refugees,” noted Marie Claire magazine in a 2020 interview. Learn more.
Sonia also founded the Afghanistan World Foundation
The mission of AWF is to provide multilevel broad-based support at the grass roots level pursuant to the Afghan National Development Framework (NDF) mandate. Learn more.