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One of filmmaking’s greatest powers is its ability to offer an audience a new perspective. To show them something they haven’t seen before or to reveal a viewpoint in which they can place themselves. This is power is central to filmmaker Elahe Esmaili’s documentary short A Move, which sees Esmaili return to her hometown in Mashhad, Iran after being inspired by the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. The film covers the reaction Esmaili’s family have to her embracing of the movement, from quiet conversations in the back of a car to subtle gestures at a communal gathering. It’s a fascinating insight into the pushback and repercussions faced by women in Iran who are looking to change their lives for the better. With A Move screening at Sheffield Doc/Fest this week (13th & 14th June), Dn caught up with Esmaili – who last joined us with her child...
- 6/12/2024
- by James Maitre
- Directors Notes
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Two well-reviewed indies are taking a bow in limited release in the shadow of Dune, A24’s Problemista by Julio Torres, and Shayda from Sony Pictures Classics, the feature debut of Noora Niasari.
Torres, the comedian, actor and writer, in his directorial debut, stars with Tilda Swinton as Problemista gets its release at last after being bumped from August due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. He also penned the screenplay, and produced alongside Fruit Tree’s Dave McCary, Ali Herting and Emma Stone. Premiered at SXSW last year, see Deadline review, and sits at 91% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
This surreal comedy adventure amid the treacherous worlds of New York City and the U.S. Immigration system follows Torres’ Alejandro, an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador trying to land a spot at Hasbro’s incubator program. When he’s fired from the cryogenic center where he tends...
Torres, the comedian, actor and writer, in his directorial debut, stars with Tilda Swinton as Problemista gets its release at last after being bumped from August due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. He also penned the screenplay, and produced alongside Fruit Tree’s Dave McCary, Ali Herting and Emma Stone. Premiered at SXSW last year, see Deadline review, and sits at 91% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
This surreal comedy adventure amid the treacherous worlds of New York City and the U.S. Immigration system follows Torres’ Alejandro, an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador trying to land a spot at Hasbro’s incubator program. When he’s fired from the cryogenic center where he tends...
- 3/1/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
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![Shayda](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNTRlNmRjZjgtYWZiNS00YzM3LWJiY2QtZjk2NmM4ZDc4MjAwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTU3ODk5Mjc0._V1_QL75_UY207_CR13,0,140,207_.jpg)
“Do you know what they would do to you in Iran?” he asks, and it’s as if she’s supposed to feel lucky.
We meet Shayda (Zar Amir Ebrahimi) as she’s touring an Australian airport with her young daughter Mona (Selina Zahednia). The seven-year-old needs to learn where to go, who to talk to, what to do if she finds herself there without her mother. They never talk, in so many words, about the possibility of her being abducted, but viewers will see Shayda’s fear. That’s about to get worse as – despite the fact that the pair have moved into a women’s shelter – a court decides that, for the meantime at least, the man they are afraid of should have unsupervised alone time with the child.
He is Hossein (Osamah Sami), and he comes bearing gifts, showering his kid with affection as such men are wont to do.
We meet Shayda (Zar Amir Ebrahimi) as she’s touring an Australian airport with her young daughter Mona (Selina Zahednia). The seven-year-old needs to learn where to go, who to talk to, what to do if she finds herself there without her mother. They never talk, in so many words, about the possibility of her being abducted, but viewers will see Shayda’s fear. That’s about to get worse as – despite the fact that the pair have moved into a women’s shelter – a court decides that, for the meantime at least, the man they are afraid of should have unsupervised alone time with the child.
He is Hossein (Osamah Sami), and he comes bearing gifts, showering his kid with affection as such men are wont to do.
- 2/29/2024
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
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Noora Niasari was editing “Shayda” when the world changed — again — for Iranians.
It was September 2022, and Mahsa Amini had just died in police custody, igniting the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement in Iran. Halfway around the world, Iranian-born filmmaker Niasari struggled to concentrate on completing her film, which she hoped would offer a portrait of female defiance very much in line with the burgeoning movement. She would finish the film that fall and dedicate it to “my mother and the brave women of Iran.”
Since its Sundance 2023 premiere (where it won an audience award and was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics), it has screened at roughly 50 festivals and earned a DGA Award nomination. Last year, Australia picked it as its Best International Feature Film submission.
Set in 1995 during the lead-up to the Persian New Year, “Shayda” marks Niasari’s feature debut. She previously directed a string of shorts films that,...
It was September 2022, and Mahsa Amini had just died in police custody, igniting the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement in Iran. Halfway around the world, Iranian-born filmmaker Niasari struggled to concentrate on completing her film, which she hoped would offer a portrait of female defiance very much in line with the burgeoning movement. She would finish the film that fall and dedicate it to “my mother and the brave women of Iran.”
Since its Sundance 2023 premiere (where it won an audience award and was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics), it has screened at roughly 50 festivals and earned a DGA Award nomination. Last year, Australia picked it as its Best International Feature Film submission.
Set in 1995 during the lead-up to the Persian New Year, “Shayda” marks Niasari’s feature debut. She previously directed a string of shorts films that,...
- 2/28/2024
- by Soheil Rezayazdi
- Indiewire
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