Ida Panahandeh – Nahid #Cannes2015

Ida Panahandeh – Nahid #Cannes2015
Nicolò Comotti, FRED RADIO, May 18, 2015
Daily, Subversive life: Nahid, the new film by Ida Panahandeh.
Play Podcast
6 min. and 15 sec.
http://www.fred.fm/uk/ida-panahandeh-nahid-cannes2015/
Ida Panahandeh – Director and writer – Nahid
Ida Panahandeh, talks about the artistic efforts that are behind the completion of Nahid, her first feature, here
at Cannes in Un Certain Regard’s official selection.
Plot: A young divorcee living with her son in a small northern city of Iran, wants to marry the man she has
fallen in in love with. According to the current rules, the father has the custody of children, however her ex
husband has granted her that right on the condition that she doesn’t remarry.
Struggling to keep both of her beloved ones, she has to think about the third option: temporary marriage
(Sighe). However, this will get her into a predicament, as despite it being legal, Sighe is not well-received by the
society.
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"Nahid" a Powerful Representation of Iranian Society
Dir. Ida Panahandeh (Distr. TBA)
4 Stars
By Tianxing V. Lan
As exemplified by Asghar Farhadi‘s Academy Award-winning 2011 movie ―A Separation,‖ Iranian realist films
have experienced Western popularization in recent years. Ida Panahandeh‘s debut film ―Nahid‖ is the most
recent in this group of films, and while it might not be as shocking as ―A Separation,‖ it is still a sharp and
poignant piece that captures some of the most important social issues in its country.
―Nahid‖ focuses on women‘s rights in what many regard as a conservative and highly patriarchal society. The
film follows the story of Nahid (Sareh Bayat), a divorcée with an increasingly ungrateful and rebellious son
(Navid Mohammadzadeh), as she struggles to pay both her rent and hers on‘s tuition with the humble salary that
she earns from her job as a typist. She is pursued by Masoud (PejmanBazeghi), a well-off and gentle middleaged man who promises to save her from her financial troubles. Nevertheless, although Nahid also has feelings
for Masoud, it is forbidden by law for her to have custody over her son if she remarries. Cornered by social
expectations and the law, she has to make a choice between her son and her lover.
While the premise of the film is something very dry—a law clause—it manages to portray a bigger picture of the
problems in Iranian society. As the audience follows Nahid‘s pains taking search for help, her story exposes the
influence of Islam in daily life, the harmfulness of Iran‘s patriarchal system, and the social violence that ensues
from poverty. For instance, an important subplot of the film is the fall of Nahid‘s son. While at the beginning of
the movie he is just a misbehaving child who does not pay attention to his school work, he learns about the
power of money as he hangs around the street and is taught to acquireit in fast but dangerous ways. At the story‘s
end, he is involved in gangs, and it is suggested that he will end up with a life similar to that of his violent,
unaccompanied father and thousands of other ne‘er-do-wells in modern Iran.
Another virtue of ―Nahid‖ is that it is not overly didactic, and subplots unfold naturally as the story progresses.
While it is evident that the direct or holds a political and moral position on the social phenomena depicted in the
film, she also tries to present different aspects of the Iranian society in a realistic, objective way. On some
occasions, however, the structure of the film is a bit loose; the director seems to be presenting what she sees
indiscriminately, and the film tends to go stray from its most important topic.
As a debut film, ―Nahid‖ is surprisingly mature and gives a vivid and realistic representation of a mother
struggling within social restrains. It invites the audience to share Nahid‘s worries, happiness, and troubles, and to
ponder broader questions about modern societies.
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Nahid’: Cannes Review
5/16/2015 by Jordan Mintzer
The Bottom Line
Strong performances ground this socially poignant portrait
Sareh Bayat of “A Separation” stars in director Ida Panahandeh’s
debut feature
A dark chronicle of one Iranian woman’s efforts to maintain both her freedom and the custody of her
child, writer-director Ida Panahandeh’s Nahid is a compelling companion piece to 2011 Oscar winner A
Separation, focusing on a different milieu but detailing a similar emotional struggle and crushing social
atmosphere.
A dark chronicle of one Iranian woman’s efforts to maintain both her freedom and the custody of herchild,
writer-directorIda Panahandeh’s Nahidis a compelling companion piece to 2011 Oscar winner A
Separation, focusing on a different milieu but detailing a similar emotional struggle and crushing social
atmosphere. Featuring an excellent lead turn from Sareh Bayat – who played the slighted caretaker in
Asghar Farhadi’s movie – this promising directorial debut is perhaps too slow-burn for widespread art
house release, but should find a few takers in Europe and select territories following a debut in the Un
Certain Regard sidebarat Cannes.
Set in a dreary town bordering the Caspian sea, the story (co-written with Arsalan Amiri) follows the
travails of divorced mother, Nahid (Bayat), who works as a typist when she’s not scolding her rowdy 10year-old, Amir Reza (Milad Hasan Pour). Divorced from the dead beat Ahmad (Navid Mohammad Zadeh),
who has both drug and gambling problems, Nahid is trying to stay afloat while hoping to restart her love
life with hotel owner and widower, Massoud (PejmanBazeghi).
But in a country where strict nuptial laws often dictate affairs of the heart, Nahid cannot openly engage in
her new relationship without first tying the knot. Or in this case, getting “temporarily married” under a
legal clause allowing consenting adults to wed for short periods of time, with the possibility of renewing
the contract. The situation puts the working-class mom in a sticky position: she wants to be with Massoud
but also wants to maintain her liberty. Meanwhile, hererratic ex threatens to ask the judge for full custody
of Amir Reza, using it as leverage to try and win his wife back.
The film starts off rather enigmatically, with Panahandeh only revealing certain pieces of information as
the stakes are slowly established. Gradually the noose begins to tighten around Nahid, and we begin to see
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how little room for maneuver she has, especially as a single mother with hardly enough money to pay the
rent. Even when she does finally marry Massoud – if only for a one-month trial period – Nahid soon finds
herself in the unpleasant shoes of a keptwoman forced to baby sit her new husband's daughter.
Although the drama takes its time to unravel, the filmmakers manage to delve into some hitherto unseen
aspects of Iranian life, including the unusual marriage laws and Ahmad’s troubles with heroin (though we
never actually see him shooting up on screen). The marginal characters and seaside setting are far from
the middle-class Tehran of A Separation, and while Nahid does not build toward the same devastating
conclusion, it offers a glimpse into a place that’s equally ridden withangst and forlornness, in a land where
people are crushed under the weight of social mores.
Playing a different kind of woman than she did in the Farhadi film – although one also beset by economic
and marital woes – Bayat skillfully channels Nahid’s various acts of resistance as she tries to make her
own way in the world, sacrificing plenty of comfort to do so. Bazeghi is strong as a bourgeois type
searching for romantic stability, while Mohammad Zadeh (I’m Not Angry!) is impressive as a volatile but
touching father who winds up hurting himself much more than those around him.
With a distant and unhurried style that sometimes recalls the work of Yasujiro Ozu, Panahandeh films her
heroine in a series of fixed medium-shots, as if Nahid were incapable of escaping the frame. It’s a
technique that corresponds well to her predicament, although one that sometimes lacks verve. Still, the
recurring image – seen from both a regular and CCTV cam – of Nahid and Massoud isolated on the
beachspeaks volumes about a place where freedom lies somewhere far off on the horizon.
CANNES FESTIVAL | Ida Panahandeh, director of NAHID (interview)
May 19, 2015
I met filmmaker Ida Panahandeh at the Cannes Festival in a year when Iran is opening wide to the international
market with a brand-new pavilion at the Village International and a few months after a Jafar Panahi win at the
last Berlinale for ―Taxi.‖ 2015 could be a good year for Iranian cinema. This year‘s Fajr Festival was split up, so
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that the international section took place a few weeks after Iranians‘ films were shown, although I‘m not sure if
that particular event is a part of the opening up or not.
Panahandeh looked modest in appearance and wore barely any make-up, leading me to wonder if she‘s usually
like this or is it a ―I‘m being watched so I‘m keeping it on the down low‖ kind of thing. She is probably a low
profile-type individual, preferring all the attention were directed at her work as a filmmaker, likely.
The Nahid of the title is played reliably well by Sareh Bayat, one of Iran‘s actresses better-known internationally
ever since appearing in Asghar Farhadi‘s film A SEPARATION (2011). The number of women actresses who
can carry an entire film is is in the low single digits: Leila Hatami, Baran Kosari and Bayat. Her Nahid gets
angered, frustrated and anguished at the various indignities that her situation as a divorcee serves her up, NAHID
providing yet another peek into Iran‘s social attitudes towards women, marriage and family.
The woman struck a deal. She can keep her boy, as long as she remains celibate. But here‘s the kicker: there‘s a
man she has a liaison with, that which threatens to ruin the fragile equilibrium of her life. ―Sigheh,‖ or the
arranged marriage which Nahid and her love interest (played by Pejman Bazeghi) chooses as an option to
circumvent her agreement with her ex-husband is not, as could be inferred, the central theme of the film. This is
something that Panahandeh emphasized during our conversation together. ―The core of the film‘s narrative is
that it is a drama, about love.‖
The filmmaker added, ―although it is legal under Islamic law, sigheh is very strongly frowned upon in Iranian
society.‖
I asked the filmmaker about the financials of making the film and territories sold. Besides noting that French
rights had been sold already, Panahandeh knew next to nothing about the business end of her film and deferred
questions to the film‘s producer who hasn‘t responded to several email inquiries, so it‘s a wash. In the U.S and
France, where I interview filmmakers regularly, if asked a filmmaker on a small-budget film would immediately
come up with funding sources and sales when asked. Is that simply a matter of Iranian reserve, or an
heightened sense of division of labor?
The most memorable part of the interview came up when I asked Panahandeh about working with her
contributors, co-screenwriter Arsalan Amiri, soundtrack composter Majid Pousti and director of photography
Morteza Gheidi. Panahandeh gushed over the strengths of her collaborators‘ work, saying this was the best
possible team she could‘ve assembled together for the film.
She had three possible actresses in mind for the role of Nahid, one of whom was Bayat. She wouldn‘t tell me
who the other ones were. Rakhshan Banietemad gave a strong show of confidence in favor of Bayat, which
possibly helped the filmmaker in her making a final decision.
The film, which has gotten its exhibition permit, will be screened in Iran this summer, although it hasn‘t been
specified exactly when. ―The Eid-e fetr period, after Ramadan, is the best time for a film to screen in Iran.‖
When she came on stage for the premiere of the film a few days ago, I was struck by Panahandeh‘s selfconfidence. She spoke English nearly fluently and thanked her crew, fest‘s Thierry Frémaux and Christian Jeune
as well as her parents. She told me during our interview together that she was used to speaking in public and had
been to many film festivals before.
Panahandeh already has a decade of filmmaking behind her, a number of prizes and awards and some festival
mileage. One thing that did surprise the filmmaker, however, was seeing Cannes audiences crying after the
screening of her film. She told me, ―Iranians don‘t show emotions in public so that was quite amazing to watch.‖
– Ali Naderzad
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"Nahid" by Ida Panahandeh (Iran)
Being a single mother is a tough job anywhere, but being a single mother in Iran isespeciallydifficult. This
iscertainly the case for Nahid, the protagonist of Ida Panahandeh'sdrama of the samename. In competitionwithin
the Un Certain Régard section, itis the Iranian director's début as well as a contender for the Camera D'Or prize.
Based in Northern Iran, Nahidis a divorcée whostruggles to make ends meetwhilejugglingherpre-teen son, a job
as a typist, a bunch of nosyneighbours and a new partnerwhoiskeen to maketheirrelationship official.
Remarryingwould put an end to the gossipmill as well as her money woes, but alsobring up new
difficultiesthatmakeNahidreluctant to accept.
Officially a drama, Nahidcouldalsobedescribedlike a characterstudy about a strongwilledwomanwhowouldratherborrow money from a friendthanaccept help from a man, beither fiancé, exhusband or the landlord'snephew, whoalsoproposed to her. Understanding the reasoningbehindsome of
herchoicesis not alwayseasy, whichmakesherappear volatile at times. Ratherthanbeingconfusing, thisis a
testimony to the complexity of hercharacter.
Nahid's behaviour canal so berelated to the delicate situation sheis in. Constantlythinkingahead, sheiscautious
about revealingtoomuch, perhaps fearing her plans will backfire. Similarly, the dialogue, whichis dense but
economicalat the same time, disclosesnothingthatisn'tstrictlynecessary and allows for a steadyunfolding of
events. Because of this, Nahidcanfeel slow at times. Being a first feature, itmaybethatPanahandeh chose to
keepitsafe in terms of plot denouement, followinghercharactersclosely in order to offer us a well-rounded
portrait of them.
In order to accomplishthat and ensurethatour full attention is on the protagonist, Panahandehopted for paredback visuals. the film mainlyfeaturesstatictakes, with camera movements and editingkept to a minimum. For the
samereason, the lightingisverynaturalistic, doingnothing to embellishNahid'´s greyish,
slightlygloomysurroundingsnorhercomplicated situation.
The only exception to thisis the recurringviews of the Caspiansea: whilestilltingedwith the grey hue thatpervades
the film, theytake on a meaningbeyond the strictlyliteral, lending the film several contemplative moments.
Seeneitherdirectly or through the CCTV of an hotel, the seais a mirror for Nahid's feelings, and goesfrombeing a
romantic setting to an insurmountablebarrier, like the deadlockshefindsherself in.
She's not one to give up easily, though, and thatisperhapshermost admirable quality. In spite of a system
thatlimitsherfreedomsomuch, shedoesn'tjustresignherself to herdestinynortake a no for an answer. A tribute to
Panahandeh'smother, whoalsoserved as inspiration for the film, Nahidis not only a promisingdebut but also an
ode to women'sresilience.
ChiaraPuntil
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'Nahid': Review
16 May, 2015 | By Allan Hunte
Director Ida Panahandeh. Iran, 2015, 105mins.
Ida Panahandeh’saccomplished debut feature Nahid marks her out as a welcome addition to the ranks of
compassionate, social realist filmmakers that stretches from Vittorio De Sica to the Dardenne brothers.
Nahid tells the story of a youngwomanthwarted in all herheart’sdesires by a society in whicheverything
conspires against her from the patriar challegal system to the strict codes of acceptable behaviour. Nahid
may lack the dramatic intensity and aesthetic rigour of Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation (2011) or Gett:
The Trial Of Viviane Amsalem (2014) but those titles give an idea of the potential audience for a film that
tackles the role of women in Iranian society in a way that is accessible and as emotionally involving as any
daily soap opera.
Cinematography is one of the film‘s great strengths, capturing moments of glittering lights reflected in the river
water, bustling markets and mustycafes.
Panahandeh has spent the past decade making short films, TV movies for the Iranian State network and
documentaries and that wealth of experience shows in her confident handling of a debut feature that carefully
balances all the elements of a complicated story and also sees the good and bad in each of the characters.
Inspired by family memories, the film is co-written by Panahandeh‘s husband Arsalan Amiri who also serves as
editor. Nahid (SarehBayat) is a young, debt-ridden divorcee living in a small northern city in Iran. Her exhusband Ahmad (Navid Mohammad Zadeh) has granted her custody of their increasingly unruly son Amir Reza
(Milad Hosseim Pour) who already sees the world as a place where he can do exactly what he likes. The custody
exists on the condition that she does not remarry. Nahid has met Masood (Pejman Bazeghi) who is keen for
them to be wed and she now faces the seemingly impossible task of trying to keep her son and the man that she
loves.
Panahandeh and photographer Morteza Gheidi do a fantastic job of capturing the mood in this bleak, wintry
backwater where the muddy seachurns beneath glowering, slate grey skies and everyone seems to know
everybody‘s business. Gheidi‘s cinematography is one of the film‘s great strengths, capturing moments of
glittering lights reflected in the river water, bustling markets and musty cafes.
The script has some memorable lines. Confronted by an ex-husbands eeking a yes to hislatest demand, an
embittered Nahid replies: ― One yes was enough for a lifetime‖. Panahandeh and Amiri have also created some
well-drawn characters. Nahid isn‘t entirely admirable as she spends money she doesn‘t have on sending her
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spectacularly ungrateful son to a private school and buying a blazing red sofa. Ex- husband Nahid initially seems
boorish and threatening but also shows his better instincts. It is a film in which everyone earns a little of our
understanding even as our sympathies flow inexorably to Nahid and her impossible dilemmas. ― Even prisoners
get fresh air once a day, ― she wearily concludes.
Nahid
review
Using the term “love triangle” in the context of this film seems a little counter-intuitive, but there it is. Nahid
(SarehBayat), a young divorcée, is a single mother raising her only son and working two jobs, barely scraping
enough money together to pay for her boy’s schooling.
When she finally finds love again, Nahid is prevented from committing to the wealthy widower, Masoud
(PejmanBazeghi) for fear that she will lose custody of her son to her immature, irresponsible ex-husband, who
still professes his love for her. Nahid’s path to happiness appears to be fraught with obstacles.
One strikingly unconventional aspect of the film is that, despite its focus on Nahid’s fierce love for her son and
romantic involvement with Masoud, the audience is left almost completely starved of any open displays of
affection. And yet, this tough-love routine of the protagonist’s proves itself to be all-the-more powerful for the
rarity with which her tenderness is expressed, and just as overwhelmingly passionate as any series of
sentimental outbursts could communicate.
Then there is the matter of the bleak surroundings in which Nahid’s story takes place. The consistently dreary
weather leaves the images devoid of any warmth, with barely any colours that do not comply with the film’s
palette of muted, sombre hues. However, a notable exception is made for red, which makes a number of
carefully considered appearances throughout the film, possibly symbolic of the passion which Nahid keeps
stifled, but which manages to slip through the cracks here and there. Though Nahid’s apparent frigidity does
not render her immediately accessible, the viewer is drawn by Bayat’s captivating performance and quickly
becomes invested in her character’s pursuit of a better life, coming to admire her resourcefulness and
perseverance.
Aside from the plot itself, Nahid functions as a window into a contemporary Iran, and the particular plight of
the unmarried woman, subject to her family’s will. Above all else, though, this is the inspiring tale of a truly
stoic soul.
th
Sunday 17 May 2015 Nina Hudson
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Verdict:
Cannes Film Review: 'Nahid'
Temporary marriage, Iranian-style, takes center stage in director Ida
Panahandeh's sensitive, well-acted melodrama.
Scott FoundasChief Film Critic
May 16, 2015 | 11:23PM PT
Were the title not already taken, “Nahid” writer-director Ida Panahandeh could easily have called her
debut feature “A Separation,” for its similarly fraught portrait of the byzantine legal complications and
social stigmas concerning divorce and remarriage in Iran. That thematicconnectionishardlylost on
Panahandeh, who has cast “A Separation” co-star Sareh Bayat in the title role here, as a small-town
divorcee who finds herself navigating a peculiar mine field known as “temporary marriage.” The result is
a reasonably absorbing, well-acted melodrama that lacks the tautdramatic construction and universal
resonances of Asghar Farhadi 2011 Oscar winner, but adds another valuable voice to the cinematic
chorus concerning the generally deplorable position of women in Islamic society. Further festival play
and minor arthouse exposure should follow the film’s Cannes premiere.
Nahid (Bayat) is a single mother living in a northern Iranian coastal town where low grey clouds seem to hang
perpetually in the skies, casting a literal and figurative gloom upon all they envelop. (The painterly HD visuals
bear the influence of the Turkish master Nuri Bilge Ceylan.) There, sheekes out a meager existence as a typist,
forever borrowing from friends and falling behind on the rent, as she struggles to support herself and her moody
teenage son, Amir Reza (Milad Hasan Pour). As part of her divorce settlement with her ex-husband, Ahmad
(Navid Mohammad Zadeh), Nahid has been allowed to retain custody of the boy, provided she never remarries
— a condition that turns problematic when Nahid wants to do settle down with her new boyfriend, the widower
hotelowner Mas‘ood (PejmanBazeghi). If word gets out, Nahid knows she‘ll face a messy custody battle from
Ahmad, a degenerate gambler who still professes his love for her and yearns for their reconciliation.
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That‘s where the movie (which Panahandeh co-wrote with Arsalan Amiri) introduces the concept of temporary
marriage, or ―sighe,‖ a centuries-old Islamic law that allows for a man and a woman to legally couple without
changing their official marital status on their government-issued identity papers. The paradoxical loophole (not
unlike Islamic law‘scondemnation of homosexuality but acceptance of transgenderism) canbeused to justify
everything from a one-night-stand to polygamy. What initially seems like it could be Nahid‘s salvation,
however, quickly proves to be anything but.
The idea of a marriage contract on the installment plan (in this case, monthly) is an idea so ripe for farce it‘s
hard to believe Ernst Lubitsch or Preston Sturges didn‘t come up with it. But this being present-day Iran,
Panahandeh‘s film feels closer to a 1940s or ‗50s Hollywood woman‘s picture about a social outcast with few
rights and even fewer options. It‘s a dilemma that plays out vividly on the face of Bayat, a gifted actress (she
was the devoutly religious home healthworked in ―A Separation‖) who makes Nahid into a sympathetic but
hardly saintly figure who can, sometimes, be her own worst enemy — as when she spends yet more money she
doesn‘t have on a brightred sofa that ends up becoming a garish symbol of her lust for a better life. She‘s the
most vivid character in a piece where both male protagonists are scripted a bit more predictably — the one
(Mas‘ood) patient and virtuous, the other (Ahmad) a self-destructive addict spiraling ever further into the void.
Whatever the latter‘s appeal to Nahid may once have been, it‘s scarcely in evidence here.
Panahandeh, whose background is in documentaries and films for television, unfolds things with a generally
sure, sensitive hand and a feel for the messiness of everyday life, especially the way Nahid‘s marital woes must
constantly take a back seat to other crises including a bedridden elderly mother and the ever more disobedient
Amir Reza, who Nahid fears maybe following a bit tooclosely in his father‘s footsteps. Whereas Farhadi was
able to transform a similar arrangement of elements into a breathless thriller, ―Nahid‖ is content to remain on the
level of a closely observed domestic drama, and while Panahandeh sometimes paces things a bit tooleisurely,
there‘s nothing terribly wrong with that. In a country where female filmmakers are an even rarer breed than in
Hollywood (and were, in fact, banned until the 1980s), ―Nahid‖ announces her as a welcome presence upon the
scene.
Reviewedat Cannes Film Festival (Un Certain Regard), May 16, 2015. Running time: 105 MIN.
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