Loghman Khaledi
Iran | 2012 | 52 min
World premiere
Language : Persian
Subtitle : English
Nessa, a young Iranian Kurd, dreams of being an actress. Constrained by patriarchal values and social pressure, her family opposes her ambitions, violently… or reluctantly. Part cinéma-vérité part interview, the film records Nessa’s battle. A tough, intense film, which tellingly conveys all the tension unleashed by a young woman’s desire for emancipation in modern-day Iran.
In Kermanshah, a provincial town in Iranian Kurdistan, Nessa dreams of becoming an actress.
Her family is firmly opposed: acting is not an honourable profession for a woman! However, in her approach to study and the little jobs she does, Nessa wins the respect of her relatives. But how is one to resist social pressure and the fear of neighbours’ opinions? And a violent brother with rigid patriarchal values? Somewhere between fiction, ‘cinéma-vérité’ and interview, the film follows Nessa in her daily struggles, placing her in her family and social context. Avoiding a black-and-white approach, the filmmaker allows Nessa and her family to speak, but uses questions, shots and pregnant sequences to underline the contradictions of a conservative society torn between modernity and tradition, where boys and girls do not have the same right to dream. A tough, intense film, which tellingly conveys all the tension unleashed by an independent young woman and her desire for emancipation in modern-day Iran.
Alessia Bottani
Translation BMP Translations