YALDA, A NIGHT FOR FORGIVENESS
(YALDA) FeaturesTIX AT VENUE ONLY 09:00pm 89mins Reading Cinemas Newmarket
SOLD OUT TIX AT VENUE ONLY 07:30pm 89mins The Elizabeth Picture Theatre
On the eve of Yalda, the Iranian celebration of the Winter Solstice, convicted murderer Maryam appears on live reality television to beg for the forgiveness that will save her life.
Winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for Drama at Sundance, Yalda confronts morality and sensationalism in the new media age. After Maryam Komijani (Sadaf Asgari) kills her husband, her fate lies with the viewers of TV sensation Joy of Forgiveness. Guided by Iranian law, her husband’s adult daughter Mona (Behnaz Jafari) must decide whether Maryam’s life is worth saving from the death penalty, and if familial friction can be cast aside for mercy. Tehran’s sweeping cityscapes are juxtaposed by the confined studio spaces, stressing the intersection of inner turmoil and public exhibitionism in this tense meditation on religion, culture and gender.
Australian Premiere
Details
| Year: | 2020 |
| Classification: | Ages 18+ |
| Country: | Iran, France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Lebanon |
| Language: | Farsi, with English subtitles |
| Director: | Massoud Bakhshi |
| Producer: | Jacques Bidou, Marianne Dumoulin |
| Cast: | Sadaf Asgari, Behnaz Jafari, Babak Karimi, Fereshteh Sadre Orafaee, Forough Ghajebeglou, Fereshteh Hosseini |
| Script: | Massoud Bakhshi |
| Program strand: | Features |
| Rights: | Pyramide Films |