Presented by Goethe-Institut and Istituto Italiano di Cultura Abu Dhabi in cooperation with Institut Francais
Director: Sarvnaz Alambeigi
Documentary, Germany, Iran, US 2022, 78 min.
Director + script (concept) Sarvnaz Alambeigi
Director of photography Mahdi Azadi
Editing Hamid Najafirad
Music Masoud Sekhavatdoust
Producers Stefan Tolz, Thomas Riedelsheimer
Production Filmpunkt GmbH, München
In Iran, dance is forbidden. Nevertheless, a group of young people is trying to teach themselves to do it behind closed doors. They know hardly anything about the rich history of Iranian dance before the 1979 revolution. The internationally recognized dancers of the time had been forced into exile before these ambitious young people were born.
Filmmaker Sarvnaz Alambeigi has discovered some rare film footage of the National Ballet from back then. When she shows the young dancers this footage and witnesses their enthusiasm, the idea is born to bring together the old and the new generation of Iranian dancers.
The film unfolds in two levels: The young dancers develop small choreographies in their hidden studio about their very personal questions around sexuality, faith, society or feminism. In the second storyline, the film team visits the old dancers abroad to persuade them to collaborate with the young generation in Tehran.
Sarvnaz Alambeigi is an Iranian documentary filmmaker and painter. She is an alumnus of the prestigious film programs Documentary Campus Masterschool and the Iran-Danish Exchange Program-Training of Film Trainers in Denmark at the Danish Film School. In 2013, she established her own film production company, Rabison Art, and has produced four documentary films that have been screened at film festivals and museums around the world. Sarvnaz is a member of Film Fatales and EWA, the European Women’s Audiovisual Network. She has a passion for philosophy, art and social issues. Her aim is to discover the mysterious complexities of humanity through different techniques and materials.
About ROOFTOP CINEMA
Throughout the winter a new series of films will be presented by Goethe-Institut in collaboration with international partners from the region. You are invited to join us on the roof terrace of the Goethe-Institut and Istituto Italiano di Cultura Abu Dhabi for contemporary films from all over the world - independent movies and box office hits, UAE premieres and must-have-seen productions.
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