‘A Fox Under a Pink Moon’ Review: Afghan Teen Turns Pain Into Art in This Raw, Award-Winning Documentary

By ultapaltakhabar Nov 23, 2025 0

A 17-year-old Afghan refugee becomes the unexpected filmmaker behind one of 2025’s most powerful, haunting migrant-crisis documentaries.

In a year overflowing with festival darlings, glossy biopics, and overhyped OTT thrillers, a small, deeply personal documentary has quietly clawed its way into the global spotlight — and it’s not because of any red-carpet frenzy. It’s because of a teenage girl who literally filmed her own life falling apart and pieced it back together through art.

“A Fox Under a Pink Moon,” the gripping new documentary co-directed by Afghan refugee Soraya and acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Mehrdad Oskouei, is the kind of film that hits you like a punch: hard, unexpected, and impossible to forget. Premiering at major festivals and recently scooping the top prize at IDFA’s international competition, the film is now being hailed as one of the most powerful migrant-crisis narratives of the decade.

But make no mistake — this is not your typical political documentary. This is a bruising, raw, painfully honest video diary of a teenager who describes her life-threatening journey to Europe as simply “playing a game.” Only later do we grasp the gravity behind those words: “the game” is attempting to cross a border illegally — and losing is not an option.

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A Teen Refugee With a Camera Becomes a Filmmaker Without Realizing It

The biggest twist? The entire live-action footage in the film was shot by Soraya herself, using her cellphone over the course of five years. She didn’t just become the subject of the documentary — she accidentally became its co-director.

This makes “A Fox Under a Pink Moon” stand apart from the countless migrant stories we’ve seen recently. It’s not an outsider lens capturing hardship. It’s a teenager filming her own bruises, her own fears, and her own horrifying reality — including domestic violence at the hands of her uncle, and later, from her much older husband, Ali.

Oskouei, known for festival-acclaimed films like “Starless Dreams” and “Sunless Shadows,” stitched her footage together remotely, preserving her voice as the film’s beating heart. And that decision pays off spectacularly.

By the time the film reveals that Soraya was only 17 when she began filming, the revelation lands like a gut punch.

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A Life Lived Between Borders

Soraya describes herself as someone “stuck between where I’m from and where I want to be,” and that sentiment shapes the entire narrative.

Born to Afghan parents who fled to Iran before she was born, she has never truly belonged anywhere. Her mother escaped to Austria; her father died early; and Soraya was left in the hands of an abusive uncle. She says, with heartbreaking calmness:

“I am used to being beaten.”

It’s one of the many confessions she delivers directly to her phone camera — the digital equivalent of writing in a diary she hopes someone will someday read.

We first met her in 2019 at Istanbul’s Zeytun Burna refugee dormitory. She and Ali, along with other migrants, make repeated attempts to cross into Greece — attempts that fail again and again. Each return to Tehran feels like another door slammed shut.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hits, Soraya becomes a cleaner for wealthy Iranian households, all while secretly creating fantastical art using whatever scraps she can find — including cardboard soaked in water.

This mix of oppression and creativity is what pushes the film into artistic territory far beyond traditional documentaries.

The Art That Saves Her: Demons, Clowns, and a Fox

One of the most mesmerizing aspects of “A Fox Under a Pink Moon” is its watercolor-style animated sequences, inspired directly by Soraya’s own drawings and sculptures.

Designed by artist Mohammad Lotfali, these animations aren’t just decorative transitions — they’re windows into Soraya’s imagination, where she processes trauma through symbols:

A clown, sometimes representing herself, sometimes symbolizing persecuted artists like Afghan comedian Khasha, who was killed by the Taliban.
A fox, serving as a companion, a guide, and a reminder of a world still filled with beauty.
Demons, sculpted from household trash, represent the violent men who have dominated her life.

Together, these images create a haunting folklore-like visual language that sets the film apart from every other migrant documentary on the market.

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A Voice Never Seen Before in Migrant Cinema

What makes the documentary almost shockingly intimate is how much of it was self-recorded. There’s no polished setup, no interview lighting, no scripted questions.

There is only Soraya — bruised, determined, exhausted, hopeful — staring into the camera as if talking to the only friend she has.

This authenticity gives “A Fox Under a Pink Moon” a visceral emotional punch that polished political documentaries cannot replicate. Her poetry, her metaphors, her painfully clear-eyed narration… all remind us that she is not just a victim but an artist documenting her own life.

The Only Missing Piece

While the documentary ends with text cards explaining Soraya’s eventual fate, some viewers may feel a longing to see her final chapter unfold on camera. Perhaps, as critics suggest, she no longer needed the phone once she found freedom, choosing the canvas over the camera.

And honestly? That feels beautifully fitting.

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A Film That Will Spark Conversations Worldwide

With its award-winning buzz, deeply emotional storytelling, and first-person perspective, “A Fox Under a Pink Moon” is poised to become a landmark migrant narrative — not because it is loud or political, but because it is soft, personal, and painfully human.

This is not just a documentary.

It’s a teenage girl’s survival story.

A protest.

A confession.

A work of art.

And one that the world needs to see.

Note: For optimal viewing on mobile devices, rotate the screen.

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