No Land's Song

A film by Ayat Najafi

91 minutes/2014/ Germany, France and Iran/Persian, French and English with English subtitles

In Iran, since the revolution of 1979, women are no longer allowed to sing in public as soloists - at least in front of men. Defying censorship and taboos, the young composer Sara Najafi is determined to organize an official concert for solo female singers. In order to support their fight, Sara and the Iranian singers, Parvin Namazi and Sayeh Sodeyfi, invite three female singers from Paris, Elise Caron, Jeanne Cherhal and Emel Mathlouthi, to join them in Tehran and collaborate on their musical project, re-opening a musical bridge between France and Iran. But are they going to succeed and finally be gathered in Tehran, sing freely, side-by-side, in front of a mixed audience and without restrictions, and to open a door towards a new freedom of female voice in Iran?

AWARDS / FESTIVALS

Audience Award best documentary - Montreal World Film Festival
Best documentary director – NOOR Iranian Film Festival, Los Angeles
Youth Jury Award - DOK Leipzig
DocuFICX best documentary - Gijón International Film Festival
Audience Award – Middle East Now Festival
Special Mention from the Jury of the Fleury-Mérogis prison - International Film Festival of Human Rights in Paris
Special Mention from EXBERLINER Prize – Achtung Berlin
Mention spéciale du Jury DocFilmMusic - Kraków Film Festival
Nestor Almendros Price - Human Rights Watch Filmfestival
Peace Film Award – Unabhängiges Filmfest, Osnabrück
Audience Award – Verzio International Human Rights Film Festival
Best Longer Film Award – International Folk Music Film Festival, Kathmandu
Best Film of Women`s Rights - Bir Duino International Documentary Film
Selection of the Europäischen Filmfestival for Best Documentary 2015
Big Award @ Festival2Valenciennes
Critic's Prize @ Festival2Valenciennes
Prix du public @ Festival de Cinéma des Cinq Continents
Best documentary film Award @ Cinema Del Reale, Italy
Long-listed for the German Film Awards / Lola 2017

© Ayat Najafi

AYAT NAJAFI

Born in Tehran in 1976 and currently living between Berlin and Iran, Ayat Najafi first studied scenography. In 1995, he set up a company for student theater at the University of Tehran, participating in several workshops led by some masters of Iranian theater. He worked on several theatrical productions as director, writer, actor and designer. Since 2000, Ayat Najafi developed his directorial work. In 2003, he founded Arta Atelier, focusing on an interdisciplinary and multimedia approach to theater, and made short experimental and documentary films. In 2005, he participated in the Berlinale Talent Campus with his short film Move It (2004). As a student at the University of Konstanz (2008- 2009), he presented his play Stories of women with moustaches and men in skirts. Lady Tehran, his second theatrical production in Germany with an international team, premiered in Berlin in 2009, followed by Pakistan [Does not] exist. In 2008 he made his first feature documentary, Football Under Cover.


Limited seats available at Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Kolkata.