Apple
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Massoumeh NADERI
Zahra NADERI
Ghorban ALI NADERI
Azizeh MOHAMADI
Zahra SAGHRISAZ
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Script and
Dialogue: Mohsen et Samira MAKHMALBAF
Director
of photography: Ebrahim GHAFORI
Editor:
Mohsen MAKHMALBAF
Production: MAKHMALBAF PRODUCTIONS - N°1 avenue 45 Shahrak
Dolotabad - Téhéran - Iran - Tél./Fax : (21) 37 45 773 - MK2
PRODUCTIONS - 55, rue Traversière - 75012 Paris - France - Tél. : 01
44 67 30 00 - Fax : 01 43 41 32 30
French
Representative: MK2 PRODUCTIONS
French Publicist: Matilde INCERTI - 16, rue Saint Sabin -
75011 Paris - France - Tél. : 01 48 05 20 80 - Fax : 01 48 06 15 40
Foreign Sales: MK2 DIFFUSION - 55, rue Traversière - 75012
Paris - France - Tél. : 01 44 67 30 00 - Fax : 01 43 41 32 30 |
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In a poor area of
Tehran, some people inform the local welfare authorities that one of
their neighbours is keeping his children locked up in his house. The
social worker in charge of the investigation discovers that twin
11-year-old girls, Zahra and Masume, have been living virtually as
prisoners of their poor father and blind mother. “My daughters are
like flowers,” the father asserts. “They may wither and die in the
sun.” The reasons he gives for keeping his daughters so sealed off
from the world are a mixture of antiquated notions that women are
valuable property to be kept locked up until marriage and a personal
desire to keep the girls from discovering boys and their own
sexuality. Based on a true story, the girls play themselves in the
the scripted film, which combines actual news reports with filmed
reenactments. After ascertaining that the girls were healthy, the
welfare authorities returned them to their parents with the proviso
that the girls should be allowed out to have regular contact with
society. The film explores Zahra and Masume’s natural curiosity and
desire to play beyond the gates of their home, and recounts the
difficulty visiting social workers face in trying to persuade their
stubborn father to open those gates. |
“This haunting, reality-based
drama
offers an allegory of Iranian society that’s at once
poetic and perplexing. The film seems full of the stylistic
assurances of Samira Makhmalbaf’s father.” -- Godfrey
Cheshire
-Variety |
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