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CAAMFest 2016

Atomic Heart

Directed by Ali Ahmadzadeh

CINEMASIA / Iran / 2015 / Culture, Narrative / 97 mins / Persian with English subtitles / San Francisco Premiere

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Atomic Heart

Roxie Theatre
March 12, 2016 12:10 pm Not Available

Description

Iranian filmmaker Ali Ahmadzadeh follows his 2013 feature film debut, KAMI’S PARTY, with another urbanite-focused, uncertainty-inducing surrealist film. We meet two girlfriends, Arineh (Taraneh Alidoosti) and Nobahar (Pegah Ahangarani) as they stagger around drunkenly after a night of partying. They hit the road, cruising the streets and, eventually, crash their car. A mysterious George Clooneyish stranger (who may or may not be the devil) appears and tells the girls he has paid off the driver of the car they hit; his only request for reimbursement is their company. A spectacularly messy night ensues, and lines between dreams and reality become increasingly blurry in nighttime Tehran.

Whilst the beginning of the film may hint at realism, it quickly turns into a surrealist reflection on Iranian culture after the crash sequence. The girls encounter patriarchal oppression in the mysteriously devilish stranger and other males in the film. Set in 2009, during former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s term in office, the film is drenched with humorous observations on the irrationality of life in Iran.

Elisa Gyotoku

Co-presented by: Persian Center & Iranian Film Festival – San Francisco

Credits

Director/Writer/Editor: Ali Ahmadzadeh
Producer: Amir Seyedzadeh
Writer: Mani Baghbani
Cinematographer: Ashkan Ashkani
Editor: Ehsan Vaseghi
Cast: Taraneh Alidoosti, Pegah Ahangarani, Mehrdad Sedighiyan, Mohammad Reza Golzar

Dates & Times

Atomic Heart

Roxie Theatre
March 12, 2016 12:10 pm Not Available

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