Filmmaker Statement

The idea for this film stems from a true story that happened to my parents when they first immigrated from Iran to the UK. I heard it only as a child but when I began thinking about what I wanted my first film to be, I knew it had to be this one. I have always been drawn — and haunted — by the theme of time. How it passes, how memory distorts it and the strange shadow of nostalgia and melancholy it casts. So, from the beginning I knew that my family’s home video from Iran had to be a part of this story. I wanted to blend fact and fiction to celebrate these treasured tapes and add a level of truth that would have otherwise been impossible. The tapes brought the specificity of Iranian culture I desired and revealed something universal: the delicate balancing act of following one’s dreams and facing one’s reality.