Ourtimes

Documentary, 35mm, 2002, 3 versions (65 min in Betacam-75 in Betacam and 35mm-  35 min in Betacam)

SYNOPSIS

Rakhshan Banietemad decides to capture images of people involved in the presidential elections of 2001 in Iran. She follows some young cinema actors and artists, including her young daughter, who with lots of hopes and desires for future have started a campaign for Khatami. Meeting some of 48 female presidency nominees whose candidacies have been refused by the government, director is deeply attracted by the character of a 25-year-old widow named Arezoo Bayat, who, despite carrying the heavy burden on her shoulders, wishes to fight not only for a better life for herself, her 9-year-old daughter and blind mother but also for all of Iranian. Afterwards, Rakhshan forgets the main atmosphere of that time and joins Arezoo who has to leave her small home finding another shelter in Tehran, and it’s where we find ourselves beside Arezoo and her problems. 

Director Rakhshan Banietemad

Co-directors Mohsen Abdolvahab, Mona Zandi

Photography Soheil Noruzi

Sound & Mix Mohammad-Reza Delpak, Hossein Mahdavi

Editors Piruz Kalantari, Mohsen Abdolvahab, Nava Rohani

Producers Jahangir Kosari, R. Banietemad

Production 79 Cinema Organization

Characters Maydegol, Mohadeseh, Farzaneh

Festivals

 

  • Locarno Int’l Film Festival (2002/ Switzerland) Winner of Netpac prize
  • Montreal Int’l Film Festival (2002/ Canada)
  • Quebec City’s Int’l film Festival (2002/ Canada)
  • Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) (2002/ USA)
  • Vancouver Int’l Film Festival (2002/ Canada)
  • Flanders Int’l Film Festival (2002/ Belgium)
  • Tempo Documentary Festival (2002/ Sweden)
  • Int’l Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) (2002/ Netherlands)
  • Festival des 3 Continents (2002/ France)
  • Rice Media Center (2003/ USA)
  • Bangkok International Film Festival (2003/ Thailand )
  • Festival de Cinema de Rennes (2003/ France)
  • Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (2003/ Greece)
  • San Francisco Film Society (2003/ USA)
  • Tribeca International Film Festival (2003/ USA)
  • Flying Broom Women’s Film festival (2003/ Turkey)
  • Froum Des Image (2003/ France)
  • Museum of Fine Arts (2003/ USA)
  • Music Center (2004/ USA)
  • Seattle Film Festival (2004/ USA)
  • Madstone Theaters (2004/ USA)
  • Women’s Film Festival in Seoul (2004/ Korea)
  • The Danish Film Institute/Cinematheque (2004/ Denmark)
  • Deutsch Filmmuseum (2004/ Germany)
  • Far Near Distance (2004/ Germany)
  • Woman Makes Waves Film Festival (2004/ Taiwan)
  • Mass Moca Film Festival (2004/ USA)
  • Kara Film Festival (2004/ Pakistan)
  • La Rochelle Int’l F.F. (29 June – 9 July 2007/ France)
  • Helsinki Documentary Int’l Film Festival (23 – 27 January 2008/ Finland)
  • Black Movie Int’l Film Festival (1 – 10 February 2008/ Switzerland)
  • British Film Institute (23 – 30 April 2008/ UK)
  • Iranian Film Festival in Netherland (16 – 20 Oct 2008/ Netherlands)
  • School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London/ SOAS) (5-6 June 2009/ UK)
  • Das Iranische Wien (16 & 19 Dec. 2009 and 27 & 30 Jan. 2010 / Austria)
  • Taipei Film House (19 Aug. – 9 Sept.2011 / Taiwan)
  • Irish Film Institute (Oct. 25th 2011 / Ireland)
  • Filmmor Women’s Film Festival (9 – 19 March 2012 / Turkey)
  • Barbican Centre London (19 April 2018/ UK)

    DIRECTOR’S Statement

    During the presidential elections of 1997 in Iran, more than twenty million people gave their vote to Khatami. Four years later in 2001, lots of them, disappointed of process of reformations, were discouraged in re-voting Khatami. But in the meantime, Iranian youngsters, forming more than half of the country’s population, participated actively in elections with this aim that their support would strengthen Khatami against conservative forces. The presence of those who, for the first time, were taking part in a political movement, and also “Arezu”, a young lady at the highest level of poorness and family problems who introduced herself as a presidency candidate, became the reasons that encouraged me to make a film about this period to be recorded in the history…