We Iranian Women

The Lives of Others

March 2006 •German

In 1984 East Berlin, dedicated Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler begins spying on a famous playwright and his actress-lover Christa-Maria. Wiesler becomes unexpectedly sympathetic to the couple, and faces conflicting loyalties when his superior takes a liking to Christa-Maria.

Dash Akol

August 1971 •Persian

Dash Akol is greatly respected in Shiraz as an honorable man who has lost his family's money through helping his friends. He has an enemy, however, named Kaka Rostam, a mean and spiteful person. Dash Akol, who is in his forties, falls in love with Marjan, daughter of the late Haji Samad, for whose estate he is the executor. But he keeps his love secret. One day a suitor asks for Marjan's hand, and Dash Akol considers it against his code of honor to refuse. On the night of the wedding, Dash Akol hands over responsibility for the family to the bridegroom. As he is leaving the house, however, Kaka Rostam is waiting for him and a fight ensues. Kaka Rostam stabs him in the back, but Dash Akol succeeds in killing him. On his deathbed, Dash Akol sends his parrot to Marjan with the confession of love he has taught it.

The Deer

January 1976 •Persian

An urban guerrilla, wounded after a bank robbery, seeks refuge with his childhood friend—only to discover that his friend has fallen into addiction. The guerrilla hides in his house and gradually begins to influence him, helping him regain his courage and strength. Eventually, he entrusts the stolen money to him…

Shelter

June 2021 •English

Fleeing religious persecution, resilient Jewish immigrants arrive in Toronto and begin building affordable, quality housing in a growing metropolis.

Enough

May 2002 •English

Working-class waitress Slim thought she was entering a life of domestic bliss when she married Mitch, the man of her dreams. After the arrival of their first child, her picture perfect life is shattered when she discovers Mitch's hidden possessive dark side, a controlling and abusive alter ego that can turn trust, love and tranquility into terror. Terrified for her child's safety, Slim flees with her daughter. Relentless in his pursuit and enlisting the aid of lethal henchmen, Mitch continually stalks the prey that was once his family.

Persepolis

June 2007 •French

In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Satrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah's defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own.

Something Old, New, Borrowed and Blue

November 2019 •Indonesian

A traditional wedding procession walks along a narrow street towards the home of the bride. Guests and family members are waiting inside the home on this big day, as they listen to prayers from the loudspeakers. The bride, Putri, is getting ready inside her bedroom while her mother is helping with the final touches of her hair and makeup. Tender and frank conversations about marriage are shared between mother and daughter in that intimate space, before Putri leaves to begin a new life with her husband.

Les Scandales de « La Religieuse »

November 2023 •French

Released in 1796 posthumously, The Nun, a novel that Diderot did not dream of publishing during his lifetime, as he knew it to be revolutionary, caused the same explosion in the 19th century France as in that of the 1960s, when Jacques Rivette decided to adapt it, with Anna Karina in the title role. “This film is banned and it will remain so!” said the General de Gaulle. Exploration of an indictment of incredible modernity which, through the tragedy of the young Suzanne, locked up in the convent against her will, denounces the inequity of a society denying women all moral, political and sexual freedom.

No Lye: An American Beauty Story

November 2019 •English

A documentary that chronicles the rise and decline of the black-owned ethnic beauty industry in America.

Everything Is Fine Here

Invalid date •English

25-year-old Arghavan lives with her parents in Tehran, and intends to marry her fiancé, Hesam. One day, her short stories win her a grant to attend a writing workshop in Germany. Soon before she is to leave, however, Arghavan is abducted and raped. In a strict, conservative society where young women are expected to be virgins before marriage, this is a social catastrophe. Plagued by gossip and finding little solace, Arghavan's life begins turning into a nightmare.

Z

February 1969 •French

A prominent politician is murdered during a demonstration. The government and army are trying to suppress the truth. But, a tenacious magistrate is determined to not to let them get away with it.

A Dance for Heroes

November 1989 •Bambara

Two women rebel against the traditions of a village society.

Outlawed in Pakistan

January 2013 •English

Outlawed in Pakistan tells the story of Kainat Soomro as she takes her rape case to Pakistan's deeply flawed court system in hopes of getting justice. The 13-year-old Kainat accuses four men of gang rape and shortly after is ordered to be killed by her village elders. Spanning over five years, the story is told through the perspective of Kainat and the four men accused of her rape.

Qatar, une dynastie à la conquête du monde

November 2022 •French

For three decades now, Qatar, this small desert kingdom, has not stopped being talked about; because of its financial power and the secrecy that surrounds it, the royal family that runs it fascinates as much as it frightens.

Nos restaurants : Une grande histoire française

December 2023 •French

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

October 1939 •English

After the death of a United States Senator, idealistic Jefferson Smith is appointed as his replacement in Washington. Soon, the naive and earnest new senator has to battle political corruption.

Kids' TV: The Surprising Story

October 2022 •English

Konnie Huq celebrates the very best of British children’s television, with a dazzling array of clips from some of the most treasured programmes ever made and revealing chats with some of TV’s most beloved stars. But Konnie also tells a perhaps more surprising story: of how kids’ TV has frequently been at the forefront of social change, in terms of the stories it tells and the people who get to tell them.

Poverty

January 2009 •Persian

A haughty acclaimed newly married fashion designer named Iraj is shown the door by his boss after the boss's son arrives at Iran to take over his father's company. Iraj reluctant to promulgate the loss of his job, starts using his savings, trying to conceal the truth from his naive wife. Having squandered all the money he had on trivial matters, he tells his wife about being axed & that's when the tables turn on him.

Tiger on a Tight Leash

January 1974 •English

Cathy, mother of three, is a university department head in a Maritime city. She speaks of the insecurity she experiences because of unpredictable day care arrangements, and of the reflection of the same difficulty in the work of her married students. 'They don't work as creatively as they could.' Part of the Working Mothers series produced by Kathleen Shannon as part of the Challenge for Change program at the National Film Board of Canada.