A Review By Nick Bradshaw

Disruption, dispossession, dislocation, separation… These six short films directed by a new crop of female Iranian directors speak almost shoulder to shoulder of loss, of broken homes and hearts and life-paths; some but not all forge new strength from the breakage, find resilience and resolve. The protagonists are almost all women and children; men are scarce, sometimes a looming absence or impediment, other times barely relevant. Together, the films imply a country where the seemingly powerless must kindle their own futures.The first three films play almost as a triptych – three films about modern young urban children confronting family fracture, grief or the prospect of exile from their known home. We might think back to the groundbreaking kids’-eye films made for Kanoon, Iran’s Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, but these are portraits of a developed Iran in which there is material comfort to spare, if not to protect. In Nafiseh Zare’s The Zoo, feisty young Ranaa is caught between fantasies of her absent, estranged father and the imminent reality of her a new life with her beleaguered mother; as their resentments spill out during a farewell zoo trip, a deer missing from the zoo stands for the object of their dashed hopes. In Payvand Eghtesadi’s Dissociation, motherless Pouya hides under a bed from his babysitter-aunt and her offers of homework help; the cuddly Monsters, Inc costume that they share implies both comfort and latent fears, which in Pouya’s case turn out to be worry that he is losing the memory of his mother’s voice. Sepide Berenji’s Raya also gestures to western pop culture – AC/DC’s Back in Black soundtracks a junior action-thriller crime scene as a posse of schoolgirls in pig masks wreak vengeance on a teacher’s car – before Raya herself heads home to reflect on violent defiance, and the rule of the market, as her parents try to avoid eviction by their landlady. Matters take a bleaker turn in Kiana Montajabi’s Iran; Second Day, in which another fatherless schoolgirl is denuded of her mother and any other diligent guardians at school pickup time. If that’s on the nose, Asma Ebrahimzadegan’s prismatic The Region makes a leap into the fog of adult pain and confusion: a replacement actress on a film set struggles for confidence performing the role vacated when her predecessor seemingly committed suicide; she shares layers of intimacies/insights/rehearsal with the predecessor’s widower. It’s an intriguingly sinuous, teasing construction. Finally, Samaneh Yadollahi’s Hair brings us back to the domestic sphere and to a yet later life stage, inverting conventional marital arrangements as an ageing wife is locked out of her kitchen by her husband, anxious that the hair she is losing will intrude into his food. It’s a droll table-turning comedy that reminds us righteous rebellion can linger behind many doors. 

“6Films by 6Filmmakers” Disruption: Contemporary Shorts by Iranian Women Filmmakers curated by Pegah Pasalar and Sadaf Sadri, as well as Cryptofiction, will have screening at Barbiacn London and  WOLF KINO BERILN in March. 

This screening introduces a meticulously curated selection of fictional short films crafted by Iranian women, predominantly based within Iran. Set against the backdrop of Iran’s deeply patriarchal society, these films serve as a much-needed disruption. They extend an invitation to the audience to immerse themselves in a realm that breathes new vitality into the perception of Iranian cinema, unburdened by preconceived notions. At the heart of this curation, two interwoven themes emerge: the experiences of women and children. From the delicate and fragmented recollections of childhood memories, to depiction of women within diverse power dynamics, this collection beckons viewers to engage with emotions often overlooked in the tapestry of everyday life. Through the lenses of these filmmakers, the inner workings of a system that fosters vulnerability in the lives of children and women are laid bare. 

– The Zoo by Nafiseh Zare 

– Dissociation by Peivand Eghtesadi 

– Raya by Sepide Berenji 

– The Region by Asma Ebrahimzadegan 

– Iran Second day by Kiana Montajabi 

– Hair by Samaneh Yadollahi