Screening at the Cinema by Velotel
Mickey Mouse T-shirt, sneakers, pink headphones – Selena stands in front of a mirror in an Iranian boutique and dances. A scene that could happen anywhere in the world, but not in Iran, at least not at the fitting for the commitment ceremony at school. This day marks the end of her childhood and the beginning of her life as a young woman. In future, certain rules will apply to her as they do to all women in public. Her mother explains to the sales clerk that Selena loves bright colors, but this is rejected. Shortly afterwards, we see Selena in a long gray coat and an almost floor-length veil.
In nine episodes, TERRESTRIAL VERSES tells of the omnipresent paternalism, bureaucracy and its power to control. The state interferes in the choice of names for newborns, fashion issues and political dog kidnappings. It is a quiet but persistent circus that defends every logic, no matter how audacious, with state-serving zeal.
The Iranian directing duo Alireza Khatami and Ali Asgari depict with sharp wit and sarcastic acuity how nine people suffer under the banal malice of officials. The film is a stirring, black-humored act of revolution that captivates with its formal-aesthetic radicalism.
“Ali Asgari and Alireza Khatami artfully assemble a picture of Iranian society in the film “Earthly Verses”.” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Followed by a talk