88 min, 2009, Iran, Drama, English Subtitle

Director: Shalizeh Arefpour Screenwriters: Shalizeh Arefpour, Naghmeh Samini Cinematographer: Hossein Jafarian Editor: Sepideh Abdolvahab Music: Alireza Kohan Deyri Sound Recorder: Sasan Nakhaei Sound Mix: Hossein Maafi Assistant Director: Behrouz Shoeibi Executive Producer: Nava Rohani  Producers: Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, Jahangir Kosari Production of Cinema 79 Co. Cast: Baran Kosari, Mehrdad Sedighian, Khosro Shakibaei, Farhad Aslani, Zhaleh Sameti, Fouzhan Arefpour, Mohsen Mokari

SYNOPSIS

During the rule of Taliban in Afghanistan, about 3 million illegal Afghani immigrants fled to Iran, causing numerous problems for the Iranian society in accepting them. This film depicts the story of a 17 year old rural girl by the name of Mahi (Fish), who comes from a war-stricken family in southern Iran. Mahi falls in love with Heiran, an Afghan student, who has come to their village to work. However, Mahi’s family being strictly against her marriage to an Afghan, forces her to choose one between her family and an Afghan boy.

BIOGRAPHY

Shalizeh Arefpour was born in Tehran in 1970. She graduated from the Filmmaking Training Center. In 1990 she started her cinematic career as script supervisor and has since cooperated with many filmmakers in 26 movies as programmer, assistant director, screenwriter and editor. She landed her directorial debut in 2004 with the short The Shadow of the Moon. Heiran is her first feature film for which she is also the screenwriter.

SELECT FESTIVALS

Durban International Film Festival (2010 / South Africa)
Tiburon International Film Festival (2010 / USA) Competition
Sguardi Altrove Film Festival (2010/ Italy) Winner of Best International Feature Film Award
Dubai International Film Festival (2009 / UAE) Competition (Muhr Asia Africa Awards)
Sao Paulo International Film Festival (2009 Brazil) New Filmmaker Competition
Hong Kong Asian Film Festival (2009 / Hong Kong) Winner of New Talent Award
Tunis International Film Festival (2009 / Tunis) Winner of the Best Film award
Toronto International Film Festival (2009 / Canada) Competition, Contemporary World Cinema