Tuesday 28 September
Cinema La Compagnia – Via Cavour, 50r
Opening Middle East Now 2021 – 12^ edition
H 9.00pm
THREE SONGS FOR BENAZIR by Elizabeth Mirzaei e Gulistan Mirzaei *Focus Afghanistan
(Afghanistan, USA, 2021, 22’) v.o. dari – sottotitoli: inglese, italiano
This moving short film shines a light on life for refugees in modern-day Afghanistan through the story of a young man, Shaista. Newly married to Benazir and living in a camp for displaced persons in Kabul, he struggles to balance his dreams of being the first from his tribe to join the Afghan National Army with the responsibilities of starting a family. Even as Shaista’s love for Benazir is palpable, the choices he must make to build a life with her have profound consequences. Anteprima italiana
to follow
RADIOGRAPH OF A FAMILY by Firouzeh Khosrovani – Opening Film
(Iran, Norvegia, Svizzera, 2020, 82’) v.o.: persiano – sottotitoli: inglese, italiano
Filmmaker Firouzeh Khosrovani investigates her parents’ unusual marriage in this documentary steeped in bittersweet history. Hossein, a radiologist, is secular and sophisticated, while his young bride Tayi is a devout Muslim, shocked by her new husband’s Western tastes. Khosrovani creates a poetic portrait of a fraught but loving relationship set against 1960s Switzerland and revolutionary-era Iran using family photos, other archival materials, recreated and imagined dialogue, and the geographical dimensions of her childhood home. The film won Best Documentary award at IDFA in 2020. Alla presenza della regista