Hollywood Reporter lauds Iran doc ‘Finding Farideh’

Leading US film magazine The Hollywood Reporter has recently published a rave review on Iran submission to the 2020 Oscars ‘Finding Farideh’.

In a recent review published on the Hollywood Reporter website, Azadeh Mousavi and Kourosh Ataee's feature-length documentary ‘Finding Farideh’ was described as ‘A gentle, straightforward story filled with emotion”.

‘Finding Farideh’, which was featured in this year's Berlinale Talents sidebar, is about an Iranian girl named Farideh who was adopted by a Dutch couple around 40 years ago, and now overcomes her fears and travels to her motherland Iran for the first time to meet three families, each claiming to be her family and parents. They all take DNA tests to find out the truth, and in the process, Farideh also meets her identity and root culture.

Hollywood reporter goes on to praise co-directors of the film, saying “Ataee and Moussavi don’t aim for sophisticated effects. Editing tends to be quite linear and shooting straightforward. But halfway through the film, a strong note of suspense is introduced when everybody goes to the doctor and gets blood taken for a DNA test. Who will “win” the test, as one contender puts it, and prove to be related to Farideh is only revealed at the film’s end”.

“Perhaps the doc’s most striking aspect is its stark contrast between the calm rationality of the Dutch family who adopted Farideh when she was around 2 years old from a Tehran orphanage and the uninhibited emotions of the Iranians she meets.”

"There’s a lot of laughing and a lot of tears in ‘Finding Farideh’,” the website noted.

The film was picked by a committee of Iranian film industry professionals from a field of 10 possible Oscar entries to represent Iran in International Feature Film Category of the 92nd Academy Awards.

‘Finding Farideh’ has already won multiple prizes nationally as well as an honorable mention at the Los Angeles Film Awards.

Producers and co-directors Ataee and Mousavi previously worked together on the 2013 documentary ‘From Iran: A Separation’ which examined the local reaction to Asghar Farhadi’s Academy Award win for the best foreign language film.

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