FROM IRAN: A SEPARATION

Directed by Azadeh Moussavi and Kourosh Ataee
2013, 52 minutes
Purchase: $350 | Classroom rental: $125

While the West often associates Iran with nuclear armament and war threats, the team behind the Iranian masterpiece A Separation attends the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. In front of television screens all over the world, and at all sorts of times of the day, Iranians await the awarding of Best Foreign Language Film with pounding hearts, and the celebrations hardly stop when the film wins its Oscar. In Tehran it seems everyone has an opinion about Asghar Farhadi's film, and the discussions about its message take place in cinemas, at carpet dealers and in front of kiosks: is the film a dressing-down of religious Iranians? Or a critique of the West’s biased depictions of the country? From Iran: A Separation is a gripping and moving story about how important an Oscar acceptance speech become when divorce is taboo and freedom of speech is something not to be taken for granted.

Subjects & Collections

Festivals & Awards

Winner, Special Prize, Cinema Verite Iran International Doc Film Festival
Official Selection, Middle East Studies Association FilmFest

Reviews

***"Recommended. A real look at people who are too easily demonized in our current political climate. From Iran captures the passion of Iranians who waited days in line to see the film and then debated and praised it endlessly, defining themselves as a class of people—like the film’s characters—who only want peace and prosperity, despite the larger global power aspirations of the nation’s rulers".- Video Librarian