‘Starless Dreams’ heads to Hungary

Budapest International Documentary Festival is to screen Iran award-winning doc ‘Starless Dreams’.

Directed by Mehrdad Oskouei, the 76-minute flick is Oskouei’s second documentary, showing young women in an Iranian juvenile detention center reflecting on the crimes they have committed and the circumstances that have shaped their lives.

Though bored with their incarcerated life they are, nevertheless, scared about what might happen to them once outside; as the New Year approaches, they all hope to celebrate it with their families.

The movie has grabbed a number of prestigious awards and titles from various global film events. Just in 2016, the film won the Amnesty International Film Prize at the 66th Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlinale-Generation 14plus in Germany as well as the True Vision Award at the 13th True/False Film Festival in the US.

It was recently selected by the American magazine ‘The Village Voice’, ranking it 7 among the best 25 world movies in 2017, placing it higher than outstanding films such as The Post directed by Steven Spielberg.

Oskouei’s production has also received the Grierson Award for the best documentary at the 60th BFI London Film Festival and the Children’s Rights Award at the 31st Osnabruck Independent Film Festival in October.

Director Oskouei, one of Iran’s most prominent filmmakers, spent seven years securing access to this all-female facility.

The 4th edition of Budapest International Documentary Festival is being held from January 23rd to 28th in Budapest, Hungary.

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