Spanish filmfest screens ‘Being Born’

Iranian film ‘Being Born’ directed by Mohsen Abdolvahab has gone on screen at the official section of the Granada International Film Festival Cines del Sur in Spain.

The 90-minute film deals with the universal question of abortion, with burning issues in many countries. This portrayal of Iranian middle class also tackles other social challenges.

“A film director and a theatre actress live with their son in Tehran. They plan to buy a flat. The theatre group the wife belongs to fears the play they are working on might be censured. When she discovers that she is pregnant, the young couple decide not to have a second child in the family,” its synopsis reads.

“They meet a doctor who agrees to carry out an abortion. The wife goes back on her decision, convinced that it is inhuman to kill this child to be born, and that it will not bring more happiness into their family. So, she declines an important part of a stage that the director just proposed her.”

What is riveting about the film is the director’s ability to tell a story that is fraught with angst and emotion with the least of melodrama.

Talking about the film, Abdolvahab said earlier: “In Iran, 98% of the people follow Islam. There is discussion about abortion. According to the Quran, it is taking someone else’s life, so it’s a major sin. And so, from a religious point of view, if one considers having an abortion, they will go through many troubles. But with a changing society, there are some people who have no other choice but to have one. Because of that, some people will have abortions secretly.”

Notable among the cast are Hedayat Hashemi, Elham Korda, Esmaeil Pourreza, Reza Mortazavi and Behnaz Jafari.

This is the second feature film by Abdolvahab. It was nominated in three categories at the 34th Fajr Film Festival.

The aim of the Granada Film Festival Cines del Sur is to disseminate and promote films made in the countries of the so-called geopolitical south. Thus, the Festival provides space for the meeting of both young filmmakers and established talents from different countries, allowing for the screening of both new productions and emblematic and historic works.

The 2017 edition of the Spanish film festival has been slated for June 3-10.

MG/MMF