UPDATE: Wow
Nadira’s first feature film as Producer, Winners, won the Audience Award for best film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival to our (frankly surprised) delight. It will play in London at the Raindance Film Festival on Saturday 29 October at 8.30pm, at the Genesis Cinema in Bethnal Green.
Other than sometimes making coffee for Nadira and a lot of babysitting, I had no hand in the film, so I feel entitled to say it is most enjoyable on a number of levels. Set in Iran and in the Farsi language (with English subtitles), it can be enjoyed as a simple amiable comedy. But for those with a knowledge of Iranian cinema it is a fest of references and hommage shots.
There is also a great deal of social commentary for those with an eye to pick it out – remember the film had to pass Iranian state censors. The entire basis of the plot is founded on Trump’s travel ban, which led to an Oscar having to be delivered to Iran rather than the winner receiving it at the ceremony.
Then there are deeper levels of observation of socio-economic conditions in Iran – the action centres around children who literally scrape a living from a landfill site – and of the conditions under which the artistic community has to live and work.
There are currently several important Iranian directors in prison – in watching the film, bear in mind that certain visual references were perhaps not apparent to the state censors who approved the script!
All in all it is a triumph for the Director Hassan Nazer. I do commend it to you as well worth watching. You can buy tickets here.
Here is a link to the trailer. At Raindance there will be a Q & A after the film in which Nadira will take part.
Congratulations to Nadira and Hassan, it does look great. Hope to make it to the showing at the Genesis.
Gratulacje! I look forward to seeing it.
so it’s meant for iranian audiences, right? if so, how can an apparent outsider successfully produce it?
Are you saying that Iranian audiences are only capable of understanding and enjoying films that are produced by Iranians living in Iran? The director, Hassan Nazer, is Iranian but IIRC resides in the UK. Is he an ‘outsider’ too? (Apologies if I have misunderstood your comment.)
Err, why not? The director is Iranian living in Scotland and he developed the film with Nadira.
Congratulations to Nadira but also to you Craig
It’s the little things like babysitting (looking after your own kids) and the odd cup of coffee that truly make all the difference, being a real couple . Well done both.⁸
Congratulations Nadira and all involved.
Will it be screening in Scotland again?
Hopefully it will have a cinema release when it has finished with the festivals, but there may be a further limited release in Scotland before that. So yes, but can’t say when at the moment.
Congratulations! Lucky for everyone that it was shown before the Filmhouse went into administration, otherwise few people would have heard about it. I hear that the Belford Gallery Of Modern Art is closing down too.
Well – congratulations to Nadira.
Some good news for a change. Glad something’s going right for you Craig.
Congratulations redoubled to Nadira, and everyone else involved!
Does the film touch upon the plight of refugees in Iran too?
I’ve occasionally seen reports that Iran has had a huge influx of displaced people, particularly from Afghanistan.
Congrats too by the way ?.
It does indeed. The wee boy and his mum are refugees from Afghanistan.
Wow, indeed! That is something special. Does it mean you and Nadira may be on the red carpet in Tinseltown next year?
Isn’t it fantastic a woman from another continent, a woman of non-Western culture coming here and making a success of a film!
Beats the all too typical Brit anti-foreigner prejudice so extant and baked in.
Good stuff Mr Murray. Glad you stuck to making the coffee and child-minding.
Heartfelt congratulations! I’d love to see the film, being a big fan of Iranian cinema and also wishing to admire Nadira’s work. Any chance it would screen on a different date? I’ll be out of the country on the 29th unfortunately…