Awards

Nov. 2010.  Winner of the Foreign Press Association’s Documentary of the Year Award.

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Citation:   The judges felt strongly that the winner of the TV Feature/documentary of Year is one of the most powerful accounts of life in contemporary Iran, which not only managed to explain the whole state of Iranian society through one terrible incident but also was an important, compelling and well-told story.  They said that the making of this film demonstrated extraordinary courage and determination.  An outstanding and powerful piece of journalism – the winner of the TV Feature/documentary of the year is Antony Thomas & Saeed Kamali Dehghan for “For Neda.”

 

Nov. 2010. “Winner of winners”: The FPA’s Journalist of the Year Award. (2010)

Shared by Antony Thomas & Saeed Kamali Dehghan for “For Neda.”

 

March 2011.   Peabody Award.

 

August 2011.  2011 Clarion Award" for best television documentary from the Association of Women in Communication."

 

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U.S. REVIEWS

First Broadcast in the United States, June 14th 2010

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A searing picture of daily life in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and of the rage of those determined to resist its oppressive rule …  The power of Antony Thomas’s documentary has all to do with its focus: the rage of a modern people – educated, ambitious, accomplished, and now consigned to a life under a regime whose enforcement of Islam law governs every aspect of life.  Surrounding Neda’s story is a larger one, related with unforgettable eloquence.

 

To watch this film is to be jarred into remembrance of those marching crowds of euphoric Iranians, waving their banners of green, their signs asking “Where is my vote?” … The question this haunting film asks is when, and how, will they re-emerge.

Dorothy Rabinowitz, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

 

Go to YouTube, type in “This is for Neda”, and weep … The film contains the first public interviews with Neda’s family.  Her indelible image reminds us that the Iranian regime’s claim to legitimacy was shattered by the events of last year.

Trudy Rubin, THE MIAMI HERALD and THE PHILADPELPHIA INQUIRER

 

A powerful look at Iranian slaying ..   HBO’s new documentary “For Neda”..  includes the first footage and in-depth interviews with her family … Following the Atlanta premier, an audience member who said she was born in Iran stood up and tearfully thanked Thomas for the film …

Lynn Peisner, THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION

 

This documentary from Antony Thomas, with reporting by Iranian journalist, Saeed Kamali Dehghan, presents a fuller profile of Ms Agha-Soltan and the place of women in Iran, through interviews with her parents, her siblings and the doctor who held her as she died, as well as her private videos, letters and diaries.

NEW YORK TIMES

 

Antony Thomas’ film, full of passion and anger, functions more as a revelation about the situation of women in Iran than the specifics of a young woman’s life … It is the first such film, and it is a gift.

Joan Juliet Buck, VOGUE

 

A silenced voice, now heard loud and clear …. A searing look at the 2009 Iranian revolt, and especially, a look into the death of a young woman named Neda.  GRADE A. 

Verne Gay, NEWSDAY

 

 Voice of America is airing an HBO documentary, “For Neda” about her death.  Despite the jamming, messages poured in from those who managed to see it.  One viewer wrote, “It is so upsetting … I cried … but it was beautiful.”

  Danforth W. Austin, Director, Voice of America. From a letter published in The Wall Street Journal

 

A moving documentary, “For Neda”, produced by HBO and aired recently for members of the Council on Foreign Relations .. [gives] history and form to the girl and her life … The story is becoming, even more, one that will haunt the conscience of mankind.

Georgie Ann Geyer, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

From the Blogosphere

 

In an HBO interview, director Antony Thomas stated that the goal of the film was to look beyond Neda Agha-Soltan as symbol to Neda as human being. To that end Mr. Thomas and crew succeeded brilliantly …  “For Neda” is one of the most compelling, moving and gut-wrenching documentaries I have ever seen.  The film succeeds wildly in projecting the entire scope of the Green cause through one of its earliest, youngest and most defiant revolutionaries, and in the most human and personal terms.

John T. Simpson, NEWSBUSTERS.ORG

 

An unforgettable documentary … A gripping narrative – one of the most elucidating films ever made on Iran …  “For Neda” connects the dots in a way that is unforgettable, tear-inducing, anger-inducing, and inspiring – all at the same time.

Jonathan Curiel, TRUE/SLANT

 

Documentaries have been made before about Neda Agha-Soltan, but Antony Thomas’s film “For Neda” goes into further depth to find out about the young woman, who unwittingly became a symbol for the Iranian struggle in her death.

TV EYE

 

 “For Neda” provides a riveting recap of startling and unexpected events … a powerful indictment of dictatorship.

Kevin McDonough, SOUTH COAST REVIEW & THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL

 

Antony Thomas’s heart breaking documentary commemorates Neda Agha-Soltan, who died by gunfire during a protest against the 2009 Iran presidential elections.

NORTH JERSEY,COM

 

The unforgettable courage and commitment of Neda Agha Soltan has been well-portrayed in this documentary.

ALL VOICES

 

A gripping and very, very sad film.

TIVOPLEX

 

Watch this.  Absorb it.  Share it.

IRANIAN NEWS NOW

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U.K REVIEWS

First Broadcast in the United Kingdom, June 21st 2011

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The Best Show of the Week …  Antony Thomas’s film , ‘For Neda’, sets out to reclaim the idea of Neda as a daughter, a sister and a friend, and, by doing so, makes the plight of her country all the more tangible.

Gabriel Tate, TIME OUT

 

Five Stars.  This moving film tells the story of how [Neda’s] stand against the brutal, repressive Iranian regime has become an inspiration for the protest movement … A frank, honest and thought-provoking account.  

           TV TIMES

 

This award-winning film looks at who Neda was .. and the awful reality of being a woman in Iran …  A moving portrait of a brave and inspiring woman who fought her whole life in defiance of a government that was against her from  birth.

Jessica Hopkins, THE OBSERVER

 

The film  offered a portrait of a young woman who was remarkable for reasons other than her very public death, and of a regime defined by a violent misogyny … Genuinely inspiring.

Tom Sutcliffe, THE INDEPENDENT

 

Pick of the Day.  Antony Thomas’s documentary not only examines the events leading to [Neda’s] brutal murder, but also tells the story of her life … The film’s main coup is an interview with Neda’s family that was recorded secretly by journalist Saeed Kamali Dehghan.

Victoria Segel, SUNDAY TIMES

 

Pick of the Day.  Antony Thomas’s powerful film  told Neda’s story .. at a time when foreign film-makers were forbidden entry, and Iranians risked imprisonment if caught filming without approval.  It was a risk with taking.                     

Joe Clay, THE TIMES

 

Pick of the Day.  Antony Thomas’s stirring film .. offers an impassioned portrait of the “fearless” Neda. 

DAILY TELEGRAPH

 

Pick of the Day. This HBO/Mentorn film meets Neda’s friends and family, and her partners in the struggle for Iranian democracy.  The person who emerges is .. a woman who believed herself entitled to think, wear and read what she liked.  In the grim theocracy into which she was born, these prosaic ambitions made her the most dangerous of subversives.                                       

Andrew Mueller, THE GUARDIAN

 

This intensely moving film.  Through [Neda’s ] heart-wrenching story it reveals the plight of so many Iranians.

Claire Webb, RADIO TIMES

 

Pick of the Day.  Film-maker, Antony Thomas explores how Neda’s death became a symbol to millions of people opposed to Iran’s government regime.

THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW

 

For Neda is both a worthy memorial for her and a testimony to the rising power of social-media networks.

MAIL ON SUNDAY

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TV Choice.  Antony Thomas’s powerful film  … a haunting account.

Jane Shilling, EVENING  STANDARD