Feature – Iran / UK Première

Showing @ Cameo 1, Mon 25 Jun @ 18.45 & Cineworld 11, Wed 27 Jun @ 20.20

Mania Akbari / Iran / 2011 / 79 mins

Intimate and bold. Mania Akbari’s film, through a series of long close-up scenes, tells the story of the transformation of Ava (Neda Amiri) from disfigured victim of an acid attack by her husband to a beautiful, confident and assured young woman.

As each scene unfolds, literally and figuratively more of Ava is revealed. From the spa where her damaged face is covered by a mask, to meeting her lover on a cable car where splashes of colour in her make-up and clothes denote her freedom, Akbari fills every inch of the screen with meaning. Not every I is dotted or every T crossed and the film demands concentration from its audience to understand where and when they are in the story, but their reward is a hugely insightful view of the female experience and an understanding that love and relationships never take a straight path. With its ambiguous ending, leaving the audience to come to its own conclusion, Akbari has made a film that is challenging, beautiful and intelligent which makes demands on its audience whilst making them confidantes to its unfolding story.