Coming to theatres this Friday, January 20:
STARLESS DREAMS
Director:
Mehrdad Oskouei
Premiere:
Berlin 2016
Select Festivals:
True/False, Full Frame, Hot Docs, Human Rights Watch, Camden, Hot Springs Doc, London, Chicago, Antenna Doc, RIDM
About:
A look at the lives of teenage Iranian girls consigned to a juvenile delinquency center.
Having already profiled young men serving time in a similar facility in a previous films, Oskouei sought access to the experiences of young women, incarcerated for a range of offenses, from robbery and drugs to murder. Finally permitted to film, the filmmaker directly interviews the inmates, his voice heard off-camera, serving as a gentle confessor and allowing them to tell their stories – something that it seems it’s unlikely they’ve been permitted the opportunity to do before. Growing up in poverty, subject to all manner of abuse from family, his subjects in many ways find a refuge and an alternate family, even in this prison environment. Through this simple but impactful film, Oskouei crafts a poignant, empathetic portrait of marginalization.
what (not) to doc 