Synopsis

Shayda, a brave Iranian mother, has fled her husband, finding refuge in an Australian women’s shelter with her six-year-old daughter. Over the Persian New Year, they struggle to find normalcy in Nowruz rituals and new beginnings. But when her estranged husband re-enters their lives, Shayda’s path to freedom is jeopardized.

Drawn from personal experiences, Iranian-Australian filmmaker Noora Niasari’s powerful debut feature is a poetic, beautifully crafted vérité portrayal of courage and compassion, anchored by a heart-rending performance by Zar Amir Ebrahimi (Holy Spider). Ebrahimi captures the vulnerability and conflict, but also the radiant soul, of an Iranian woman who boldly reclaims her human rights: to divorce her husband, dress as she chooses, and keep her child no matter the cost.

Synopsis

A series of incisive, often darkly comic vignettes, Terrestrial Verses offers a glimpse into the lives of average Iranians as they grapple with the social, cultural, and religious bureaucracies imposed upon them by their government. A static camera chronicles an array of struggles—a woman searching for her lost dog, a filmmaker clashing with national censorship, a parent attempting to name his newborn son David, and many others—as the film ponders the absurd, draconian structures that subtly dictate life in Iran. The accumulation of these striking short fictions paints a powerfully human picture of a population fed up with the constraining politics of everyday life.