Movie Summary

Through the tumultuous summer days of Iran’s 1953 coup d’état, the destinies of four women converge in a beautiful orchard. Together, they find solace and companionship, but it is only a matter of time before the outside world seeps into their lives as their country’s history takes a tragic turn. WOMEN WITHOUT MEN -an adaptation of Shahrnush Parsipur’s magical realist novel- is Iranian artist, Shirin Neshat’s, first feature length film. “For me, this is a poetic gesture, to make a film that allegorically, metaphorically deals with four women looking for an idea of freedom, democracy and independence and the country of Iran.” Women Without Men is an incisive and sumptuously filmed reflection on a pivotal moment in history that led to the Islamic revolution and the Iran we know today. It was awarded with the Silver Lion at Venice Film Festival 2009, where President of the Jury, Ang Lee, commented: “This film grabbed my heart”. The film is dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives in the struggle for freedom and democracy in Iran – from the Constitutional Revolution of 1906 to the Green Movement of 2009. Video featuring (in order of appearance): Shabnam Tolouei (Munis) Orsi Tóth (Zarin) Arita Shahrzad (Fakhri) Pegah Ferydoni (Faezeh) Music and movie soundtrack by Ryuichi Sakamoto www.womenwithoutmenfilm.com