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On the southern Iranian island of Qeshm
in the Persian Gulf, women wear a headscarf, but also a “burka,”
a pinching mask of black bands pressing against the eyebrows and
nose, and ending in a point just above the mouth.
The interviewed women do not remove this outward sign of oppression,
but against the strict religious rules they talk openly into the
camera about their emotional problems, mental condition and physical
complaints. “We never wanted to appear before a camera,
but now we do. We may wear a burka, but we are human beings. We
breathe and live.”
During a special ceremony called Zar (which means possession),
different afflictions of the women can be treated. When there
is no camera around, their only possible cry of distress is often
death. “A woman is like a pair of shoes,” a grieving
husband says. “When one is gone, you can find another one.
But what am I supposed to do with the children?”
Both men and women make lasting statements in the film, just
as filmmaker Mehrdad Oskouei does by filming shots of the daily,
barren life on the island, which is plagued by draughts and other
catastrophes.
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After witnessing a terror attack, Nadav, twelve years old, decides
that grown ups can no longer be trusted and it's up to him to
bring peace to the region.
He announces the formation of a new movement, “Peace for
the Future,” consisting entirely of children. This film
spends nearly two years (2002-2004) following Nadav, a charismatic
natural born leader and his new friends, Israelis and Palestinians
living in West and East Jerusalem.
Reality, however, is harsher than any dream... Can this next
generation’s good will prevail? An encounter with the children's
political “adventure” offers a new perspective on
an all-too-familiar reality, and a glimpse of the emotional world
these children are forced to deal with in the shadow of fear.
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