ABOUT THE PROJECT

LOGLINE
Inspired by Iranian cinema’s beauty and poetry, an Indian filmmaker journeys to Iran chasing the source of such impossible hope despite the stringent censorship of the Islamic Regime. Alongside filmmakers like Jafar Panahi, activists, and regular women, her camera captures the simmering anxieties, fears, hopes and dreams of a nation on the verge of a revolution.

SYNOPSIS
Inspired by the cinema of Iran and the poetry of a feminist poet, Forough Farrokhzad, an Indian filmmaker undertakes a self-reflexive journey to explore the lives of filmmakers, women and regular citizens of Iran. The film reveals how Iranians negotiate with the stringent censor body of the Islamic Republic and the limitations it imposes on basic rights of expression.

It interweaves the stories of two filmmakers: globally acclaimed new wave filmmaker Jafar Panahi (banned from filmmaking since 2009) and Mohammad Shirvani, fighting censorship in cinema with the daily battles of Iranian women resisting censorship of their bodies. Both these strands are combined with the visual notes of a woman filmmaker who witnesses changes in the Iranian society over 6 years.

As male directors converse about politics and cinema, it is revealed that women cannot sing in public or openly talk about their desires. The removal of a woman’s body and her voice lie at the core of censorship. The film charts the journey of Iranian society, especially its women from being reduced to mute observers to those fighting to reclaim their lost voices, thereby spearheading the largest struggle for liberation rocking Iran now.

PROJECT TYPE Documentary Feature / Film Essay

DIRECTOR Sreemoyee Singh
PRODUCER Sreemoyee Singh