movie Iranian women raise their voices with "A Sisters' Tale"
Nasreen wants to sing. In Switzerland, that would be a completely normal wish. But in the documentary "A Sisters' Tale" by Iranian filmmaker Leila Amini, this wish is the starting point for a story of liberation.
19.12.2024, 07:00
SDA
Nasreen has sung. After the world premiere of "A Sisters' Tale" at the Locarno Film Festival last summer, she performed in public for the first time, albeit only briefly, in front of 900 people.
The movie about her begins with her falling into a depression after the birth of her second child, Hana. She is married to Mohamed in an arranged marriage. He is a silent, almost ghostly presence within their four walls before he disappears completely. At some point, Nasreen will get divorced, but her two children Hamid and Hana will stay with her.
Seven years with the handheld camera
Nasreen is the sister of filmmaker Leila Amini. She accompanies her with a hand-held camera for seven years. At the beginning, Nasreen is stuck in Iranian prohibitions, disappears behind her headscarf and carries too many pounds around with her. But then she begins to fight for her dream. She sings without a veil.
Leila Amini, who directed, wrote the screenplay and co-produced the film, told the Keystone-SDA news agency in Locarno that the film is nevertheless acceptable in Iran, "as all the images without the veil were filmed at Nasreen's home by her sister". So far, the film has not encountered any difficulties in Iran.
The documentary is a discreet reflection of Iranian women in 2022, following the death of 22-year-old Kurdish student Jina Mahsa Amini. She was arrested by the morality police because they felt she was dressed inappropriately. Amini died in police custody. This sparked protests all over Iran.
Close relationship with women in Afghanistan
Against this backdrop, the film is aimed at both Western audiences and women in Afghanistan, whose rights have been curtailed far more than in Iran since the Taliban returned to power. According to filmmaker Amini, her documentary is about "women having to fight for their rights, raise their voices and find their way".
The ties between Iranian and Afghan women are close, according to Amini. "The Iranian 'Women and Freedom' movement has received a lot of attention in Afghanistan because we speak the same language and exchange a lot via social networks."
In addition, "A Sisters' Tale" provides an insight into the Iranian underground music scene and its networks. The music scene is disseminated via social media, pirate radios or at clandestine concerts, for example in underground car parks. Amini also wants her film to be understood as a film about the voice - the voice of the singer, but even more so the voices of women as people. "And they should be heard," said the director at the Locarno Film Festival.
Nasreen is working on her first album
She had traveled to Locarno with her whole family, the protagonists of her film. Since her sister's public appearance, some family members have not returned to Iran, the director told Keystone-SDA in mid-December, shortly before the film was released in Swiss cinemas. Nasreen continues to write poetry and sing. She is currently preparing her first album. And Amini herself is working on her second film, which she wants to shoot again in Iran. "A Sisters' Tale" opens in Swiss-German cinemas on December 19.
