Asteroid

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Farhang Foundation Short Film Festival—2nd Prize Winner

Light Sight

Iran, 2016

As part of his final project to earn his M.A. in animation at Tehran University of Art, writer-director Seyed M. Tabatabaei orchestrates a dazzling display of color and design to depict a dream world that turns sinister when its lone inhabitant tries to reach beyond its horizons.

DCP, color, 8 min. Director: Seyed M. Tabatabaei. Screenwriter: Seyed M. Tabatabaei.

U.S. Premiere!

Asteroid

Iran, 2021

In a remote Iranian village, 12-year-old Ebrahim (Ebrahim Zarozehi) works harder than some of the adults who tower over him to help his single mom care for his five siblings and to save for their own home. He picks dates, waits on tourists at an eco resort (where his mother also works), tends horses at a local ranch and runs errands for anyone willing to pay. While the lure of Tehran seduces some of his friends away, Ebrahim, for all the daily hardships and demands, seems content to stick close to home. Through Ebrahim’s eyes, wise beyond their years, writer-director Mehdi Hoseinivand explores the rhythms and relationships of small town life in largely realist terms but at the film’s center is always a warm, caring story of Ebrahim and his family as they quietly, determinedly make their way in the world.

DCP, color, 77 min. Director: Mehdi Hoseinivand Aalipour. Screenwriter: Mehdi Hoseinivand Aalipour. With: Ebrahim Zarozehi, Ghazal Shojaie.