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EAST OF NOON
Director: Hala Elkoussy
Stuck in a sandy enclave in the middle of nowhere, aspiring musician Abdo divides his time between digging graves and creating music using household implements. Along with his Nunna, he is plotting his escape to a wider world while scheming to survive the everyday tyranny of the enclave boss, Master Shawky. A story that is very much about the power of story-telling, with some of the flavour of the Arabian Nights, the evocatively titled East of Noon is shot largely in black and white. This surface beauty gives its familiar theme of youthful revolt a surreal, fantastical quality, allowing ideas that would otherwise be taboo to float free.
6 AM
Director: Mehran Modiri
Sarah is leaving Teheran for three years to study for her doctorate in Canada. Her flight is at 6 am. After an emotionally fraught final dinner with her family, she heads to an impromptu farewell party at her friend Farida’s apartment, intending to go straight to the airport afterwards. That plan implodes, however, when the morality police swoop in. Drinks are emptied, musical instruments hidden and women put on their overcoats, while Sarah is seized with terror that they will all be arrested – and she, of course, will miss her plane. Mehran Modiri, Iran’s popular satirist, who also has a chilling cameo as a police hostage negotiator, proves here that he is just as at home with a nail-biting drama.
SEEKING HAVEN FOR MR. RAMBO
Director: Khaled Mansour
Hassan, his mother and his beloved dog Rambo are threatened with eviction by their landlord Karem, a car mechanic who wants to use their house to expand his workshop. Rising tensions culminate in a street fight between Karem and Hassan, settled by Rambo when he leaps in and bites Karem in the crotch. Humiliated, Karem promises bloody revenge. Thus begins Hassan’s search for a safe haven for his friend, a journey that will take him into the city’s underbelly, but also into the heart of his own fears, changing him forever. Sparked by a real incident, this is a film about the strong relationship between a man and his dog and a nuanced reflection on everyday violence.