Iranian ‘19’ to compete at Kolkata filmfest

Iranian movie ‘19’ has been selected to compete at the Kolkata International Film Festival in India.

Directed by Manijeh Hekmat, the movie will be screened in the 27th edition of the Indian gala.

‘19’ is about Mitra, a 57-year-old painter and a single woman, who goes into a coma after being infected with COVID-19.

With her last breath, she begins traveling to different parts of her memories through her unconscious mind.

Mitra’s spirit comes back home to pack an imaginary suitcase full of her bittersweet memories and take it away.

Moments before her last trip, just like Lot’s wife, she looks back at the lives of hers, her friends and her generation… at what they have done, what they have built and what they have ruined.

Hekmat has said, “The film narrates all the doubts of my generation, the fear and the trembling we have experienced all through our lives.”

“It’s my own narrative, a narrative of mine as an author, as a filmmaker, on the verge of fading. In these hard times for our world, I decided to look back to see what we have made and what we have ruined. I feel that I’m the same pillar of salt trying to open her mouth once again,” she added.

The cast list of ‘19’ includes Pantea Panahiha, Bozorgmehr Hosseinpour, Katayoun Amir-Ebrahimi, Jamshid Ahangarani, Parisa Nemati, Navid Sajjadi-Hosseini, Fatemeh Farahani, Azam Rangrazan, Nila Alami, and Borzou Azad.

According to the official website of the Kolkata International Film Festival, “it is proposed for the cine lovers, critics, actors and others so that they continue to feel the pulse of the gala international film festival in the cultural capital of India even in this pandemic situation”.

The 2022 edition of the event will be held on January 7-14.

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MG/AG