At The Cinematheque, MENA Film Festival presents a timely look at Iran through women's eyes, July 5
Five short films take on deeper meaning against a backdrop of armed conflict and women’s rights struggles
“All the Time”.
“A Long Walk”.
Unsettled Reality, Tomorrow’s Imagination is at The Cinematheque on July 5 at 7 pm, after a preshow gathering at 6 pm in the courtyard
SOMETIMES FILM SPEAKS urgently and eloquently to a moment. That could not be more true of Unsettled Reality, Tomorrow’s Imagination, a timely selection of short films that capture the uncertainty and the fragility of hope in Iran. The program offers a rare view from inside Iran, through women’s eyes—with works that take on new meaning against a backdrop of armed conflict and the Woman, Life, Freedom struggle against a deeply patriarchal society.
Screening at The Cinematheque, the program put on by the MENA (Middle East/Southwest Asia and North Africa) Film Festival and curated by Mania Akbari, with Nafiseh Zare, features five works directed by women from within Iran.
Among the offerings, Maryam Bakhtiari’s “Falling Up” is a surreal portrait of a man and a woman who meet through a company that produces dreams—and share an inability to overcome past hardships.
Shadi Karamroudi’s “All the Time” tells the story of Toranj, who finds out her younger teenage sister is planning to commit suicide and feels stuck figuring out how to react.
And Sonia Sanjari’s “A Long Walk” is another compellingly surreal vision, about a woman who starts to see and feel things that she couldn’t before.
The Iran-based filmmakers even join in for a virtual Q&A, moderated by MENA codirector Arman Kazemi and programming coordinator Sufi Rafat.
The event includes a free pre-screening gathering at 6 pm, with music curated by an Iranian DJ as well as Palestinian catering, all in The Cinematheque courtyard. 
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