Film from Iran: Gilaneh

Tehran, 1988: Iraqi bombs rain down as Iranians celebrate the new year. Despite the danger, the widowed Gilaneh must go to the city with her pregnant daughter to meet the young woman’s husband. Fifteen years later, the United States attacks Baghdad during another New Year’s celebration. Scenes of the new war flash insistently across the television while Gilaneh cares for her bedridden son, injured by chemical weapons. This moving tale reveals the depth of one mother’s courage and love as she tries to rebuild hopes and dreams shattered by decades of violence. 2005, Iran, DCP, in Farsi with English subtitles, 84 min.

Presented as part of a trio of films by celebrated female Iranian directors Marzieh Meshkini and Rakhshan Bani-Etemad. Together, they represent the directors’ authentic perspectives as women in modern Iranian society.