If 18-year old Sonita had a say in things, Michael Jackson would be her father and Rihanna her mother. She captures her dream of being a famous rapper in her scrapbook. For the time being, her only fans are the other teenage girls in a Tehran shelter. There, Sonita, a refugee from Afghanistan, gets counseling for the traumas she has suffered and guidance in shaping her future. Her family has a very different future planned for her: as a bride, she’s worth $9,000. What’s more, women aren’t allowed to sing in Iran. How can Sonita still succeed in making her dreams come true?

Director Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami ends up personally involved in answering that question, reigniting the discussion as to how documentary makers should relate to their subjects. This is just one of the many unexpected twists in an exciting journey replete with the setbacks and successes of a young woman looking for her own path. The film’s core consists of Sonita artistically arguing against the disastrous forced marriage practices that obstruct her freedom in an impressive, dramatic rap video. – IDFA Catalogue

“My name is John Ford and I make Westerns” this is how John Ford introduced himself at the American Film Directors’ Association gathering. Negahdar Jamali, an Iranian from Shiraz introduced himself the same way when Kamran Heidari first met him without knowing John Ford that well: “My name is Negahdar Jamali and I make Westerns”, he introduced himself with self-confidence and without any weakness in his statement; not in the Monument Valley or in the Grand Canyon but in Shiraz and the deserts surrounding the city. He has been making Western films continuously for the past 35 years under hard conditions, and this film is about the struggle with his family, friends, society, and others to make what he likes the most in his life “Western Movies”.

Kamran Heidari was born in Gachsaran, near Shiraz in 1977. After receiving his Diploma he started making films and attended classes for making documentary films for 5 years. All his documentaries and photos are about people from his region Shiraz (Fars). “I am Negahdar Jamali, I make Western Films” is his first long documentary.

Red Lines and Deadlines
Life behind the scenes of the Iranian newspaper Shargh

In 2004 filmmaker Taghi Amirani gained unprecedented access to Shargh, at the time Iran’s leading reformist newspaper. With full official permits from all the relevant Iranian authorities, he went behind the scenes with the paper’s young journalists as they went about their job of reporting and commenting on a wide range of social, cultural and political stories. Amirani’s camera follows the journalists on assignments and at home as they offer rare insights not just about journalism but also about post-revolutionary Iranian society. Made in the final year of President Khatami’s second term in office Red Lines and Deadlines is a film made by an Iranian with Iranians that tries to stay clear of clichés about Iran presented in western media. The film was broadcast in the US on the PBS series Wide Angle.

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