Sonia Nassery Cole
Encyclopedia
Sonia Nassery Cole is an Afghan
-American
activist, socialite, film director and actress.
. She escaped the county during the Soviet occupation by walking into neighboring Pakistan
, aided by a nomad across the desert which her parents had entrusted to guide her to safety. She went to Islamabad
, where her politically connected father saw her eventually move to the United States at the age of 17 and land a job with the United Nations
. She wrote to Ronald Reagan
endlessly to help her country from the Soviet Union who agreed to meet her and accept her into the anti-Soviet elite. At the age of 19, she organized a $1,000-a-plate fund-raiser with Reagan. Her marriage to real-estate investor Christopher Cole also dramatically improved her connections with important politicians, diplomats and filmmakers along the way.
is also active in the Afghan World Foundation cause and is a friend of Sonia.
at the 83rd Academy Awards
, but it didn't make the January shortlist.
The film, which premiered at the Ariana Cinema Theater on September 23, 2010, but is without a distributor, is about a family in Kabul struggling to cope with a restaurant business after the fall of the Taliban regime. Afghan attendees at the movie's premier in Kabul told a New York Times reporter that the film didn't depict the Afghanistan that they know and are familiar with. Amin Mokhtar, an employee of the Afghan Film Organization, balked at a funeral scene, in which mourners threw handfuls of earth into the graves, not an Afghan practice, he said. “The director (Cole) and workers grew up in America and don't know much about Afghan culture, that is the point.
on the Los Angeles scene.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
activist, socialite, film director and actress.
Early life
Cole was born in AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. She escaped the county during the Soviet occupation by walking into neighboring Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, aided by a nomad across the desert which her parents had entrusted to guide her to safety. She went to Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
, where her politically connected father saw her eventually move to the United States at the age of 17 and land a job with the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. She wrote to Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
endlessly to help her country from the Soviet Union who agreed to meet her and accept her into the anti-Soviet elite. At the age of 19, she organized a $1,000-a-plate fund-raiser with Reagan. Her marriage to real-estate investor Christopher Cole also dramatically improved her connections with important politicians, diplomats and filmmakers along the way.
Humanitarian work in Afghanistan
In 2001, Cole returned to Afghanistan and established the Afghanistan World Foundation in 2002 which raised over $300,000 after two years, funding the construction of a hospital for women and children in Kabul, medical care for land-mine victims and other causes. Cole primarily deals with improving the conditions for children in Afghanistan. Singer Natalie ColeNatalie Cole
Natalie Maria Cole , is an American singer, songwriter and performer. The daughter of jazz legend Nat King Cole, Cole rode to musical success in the mid-1970s as an R&B artist with the hits "This Will Be ", "Inseparable" and "Our Love"...
is also active in the Afghan World Foundation cause and is a friend of Sonia.
Film career
Cole has made several appearances in film since 1994. In 2007 she directed the short film The Bread Winner. In 2010, her film The Black Tulip was selected for screening as Afghanistan's entry for the Best Foreign Language FilmAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
at the 83rd Academy Awards
83rd Academy Awards
The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2010 and took place February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, Academy Awards ...
, but it didn't make the January shortlist.
The film, which premiered at the Ariana Cinema Theater on September 23, 2010, but is without a distributor, is about a family in Kabul struggling to cope with a restaurant business after the fall of the Taliban regime. Afghan attendees at the movie's premier in Kabul told a New York Times reporter that the film didn't depict the Afghanistan that they know and are familiar with. Amin Mokhtar, an employee of the Afghan Film Organization, balked at a funeral scene, in which mourners threw handfuls of earth into the graves, not an Afghan practice, he said. “The director (Cole) and workers grew up in America and don't know much about Afghan culture, that is the point.
Personal life
She currently resides in Beverly Hills and is now divorced from Christopher Cole, but retains his surname. She often attends formal functions and is a socialiteSocialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
on the Los Angeles scene.