THE LAST AMBASSADOR

Natalie Halla, Austria, 2025, 80 min., documentary, Dari, English with English subtitles

The Afghan ambassador in Vienna, Manizha Bakhtari, has found herself in a bizarre situation since the Taliban took power: she represents a country whose former government has fled and whose new Taliban government is not internationally recognized. Despite financial and logistical isolation, Manizha Bakhtari defies the Taliban and continues her fight for the rights of Afghan women and girls as ambassador. Through her “Daughters” program, she enables Afghan schoolgirls to receive a secret education and, at the same time, organizes political resistance against the Taliban as ambassador. Under increasingly difficult conditions, she is becoming one of the most important international spokeswomen for the women of Afghanistan, true to her motto: “Peace is not the absence of war, but the presence of justice.”
Natalie Halla (director)
Natalie Halla, born on November 18th 1975 in Linz (Austria), studied law and translation (Russian, Spanish) at Karl-Franzens University of Graz. After several years of studies and job assignments in Russia, Israel, Spain, Peru and France, she started her career as an independent documentary film maker, for which she gained her skills as an autodidact. Since 2010 she has directed and produced nine award winning winning feature length documentaries, mainly focused on human interests stories and fundamental rights. Natalie Halla has given Masterclasses and been to nominated jury member in serveral international film festivals.
Tickets: Sat, Nov. 1, 6:45 p.m.
In the presence of: Manizha Bakhtari (protagonist)
Berlin premiere
Afterwards, there will be a panel discussion on #Cinema Against Forgetting – Focus on Afghanistan.

Tickets: Mon, Nov. 3, 9:30 p.m.
THE LAST AMBASSADOR celebrated its world premiere at the Copenhagen documentary film festival CPH:DOX. At the Hot Docs Festival in Toronto, the film was voted one of the 20 audience favorites and received a special mention from the jury at the Biografilm Festival in Italy.

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