“Son-Mother” directed by Mahnaz Mohammadi is one of the films. It is about Leila, a single mother who lives in the poverty of today’s Iran. The factory where she works is facing a crisis and jobs are in danger. Kazem, the factory bus driver, proposes to Leila, but only under certain conditions. When Leila loses her job, she must face a difficult decision – whether to accept Kazem’s proposal, which would save her from poverty, but would also force her to abandon her son. In the end, it will be him who will have to decide.
The film received the special jury award at the Alice nella Città section of the 14th Rome Film Fest.
Another one is Manijeh Hekmat’s road movie “Bandar Band”, which is a co-production between Iran and Germany. It takes us on a journey through the southwestern Iranian province of Khuzestan. The whole area is flooded, and we follow Navid, Amir and the very pregnant Mahla on the road to Tehran, where their band is going to participate in a music competition. Even though parts of the road are completely under water, and they confront endless obstacles and detours, the group is in good spirits as they sing their way through an almost impossible journey.
“Sunless Shadows” by Mehrdad Oskui is also competing in the documentary section of the festival.
In the film, Oskui builds a remarkable relationship with a group of adolescent girls serving their sentences in an Iranian juvenile detention center for the grave crime of murdering their father, their husband, or another male family member.
The documentary brought Oskui the best director award at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in 2019.
The Films from the South Festival will come to an end on December 6.
Source: Tehran Times