Austrian filmmaker Natalie Halla’s The Last Ambassador dutifully documents one woman’s fight to stand up against a totalitarian regime in a country she loves deeply, but is unable to return to at this current moment in history.
Manizha Bakhtari has stayed at her job in Vienna as Afghanistan’s ambassador to Austria, even though she has been let go. Told her services were no longer needed in 2021 after the Taliban seized control of the Afghan government, Bakhtari refused to go quietly, continuing to run a functional embassy even after it should’ve been closed. Seeing the Taliban as a terrorist organization that she will only acknowledge when they are recognized by the international community as a legitimate government, Bakhtari continues to advocate for the rights of women back home through her Daughters program, which campaigns for a woman’s right to an education. With threats made against her life and family, Bakhtari continues to speak out against the Taliban amid a global political morass that seems to have forgotten about Afghanistan amid a slew of other crises.
The Last Ambassador outlines the dangers faced by women in Afghanistan and Bakhtari’s unwavering resilience, even though Halla doesn’t get into many of the specifics regarding her subject’s actual programs. The Last Ambassador doesn’t stray too far from an established set of talking points, except when depicting the psychological and emotional toll the work takes on Bakhtari.
But as an examination of the ways the world has given up on the plight of Afghanistan, The Last Ambassador is accomplished, explaining the fallout from the U.S. governments secretive and destructive 2020 “Doha Deal,” and examining a country where women have been sold out for a false sense of peace. Bakhtari’s work is inspirational, and Halla’s film gives a nicely broad view of why it still matters.
Friday, April 25, 2025 – 8:00 pm – TIFF Lightbox 3 (RUSH)
