Seven Springs Pictures

A satirical take on the mundane absurdities of life in modern-day Iran, these nine vignettes illuminate the lighter side of enduring under authoritarian rule. Whether choosing a name for a newborn, graduating from grade school, getting a driver’s license, applying for a job, or seeking approval for a film script, if you live in Iran, you best come fluent in Orwellian discourse.

Hajar is a 55-years-old Bahktiari woman from Iran who is betrayed by her family and forced to abandon her nomadic lifestyle. Climate change, urbanization and social issues have drastically diminished the traditional migratory activities of the Bakhtiari tribe from Southwestern Iran.

After the of premiere of his film Terrestrial Verses (co-directed by Alireza Khatami) in Cannes, Ali Asgari was banned from traveling by the Iranian authorities. But filmmakers like Asgari are not easily deterred from practicing their art, despite unceasing repressive government interference.

In a mountainous but extremely green landscape goats jump over the rocks and laughing children run after them. In this paradise on earth, nomadic families have found their temporary home. From one of these families comes a teenage girl, Shahnaz. The girl should be getting married soon, but her thoughts are focused on the world of literature.

Afghanistan under the brutal rule of the Taliban. After surviving her family’s massacre, Leila has just one goal in life: to find her son Omid. But in a country where being a woman means being less than nothing, her chances are desperately slim, and so she chooses an extreme and dangerous solution. She radically changes her identity and sets out on a path where even the slightest hesitation can mean death.