Films & Schedules - IRAN

A taut, involving drama centered around the mysterious disappearance of a young woman.

Ahmad, divorced from his German wife, has recently returned to Tehran. Looking forward to joining a group of old university friends for a weekend getaway on the Caspian Sea, he reflects that perhaps it is time to find an Iranian wife. One of the group, Sepided, has invited someone new, an attractive teacher named Elly, who she thinks just might be a match for Ahmad. But as the lighthearted gathering settles in, Elly mysteriously disappears from their seaside bungalow. As lies and deception compound into catastrophe, About Elly focuses on the behavior and values of the Iranian middle class, illustrating how convention, conformity, and tradition can be restrictive, even among those who fool themselves into thinking they are not guided by them.

Filmography: Beautiful City (04), Fireworks Wednesday (06).

Winner of the Best Narrative Feature award at the Tribeca Film Festival and this year’s Iranian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

119 Minutes    

Interests: Oscar Submissions, Narrative Feature, Middle Eastern.

Heiran and Mahi are in love. He is Afghan, she is Iranian. Her father forbids her to see him, and thus begins a tale of love and prejudice, a modern-day, Middle Eastern Romeo and Juliet.

During the post-Soviet period of Taliban rule in Afghanistan, almost three million Afghans fled across the border into Iran, triggering prejudice and strife among their hosts. Heiran is one such refugee. Mahi, a successful 17-year-old student from a poor family herself, falls in love with Heiran. Her father, however, flies into a violent rage when he learns of their relationship and forbids Mahi to see Heiran. And that is only the beginning of the couple’s problems. When they flee to Tehran together, their hard-won bliss is soon threatened again. Heiran is a timeless tale of star-crossed lovers thrown into turmoil by family differences and cultural circumstances—a modern-day, Middle Eastern Romeo and Juliet.

First Feature Film.

88 Minutes     Digital    

Interests: Narrative Feature, Global Classroom, Middle Eastern.