Zemestane Akhar

The former mayor still feels responsible for the depopulated village he once served: many of his neighbors have left since they dammed the valley, and he takes care of their property. His cheerful wife Baji, on the other hand, spends her time embroidering, although her eyes aren’t so good, and sometimes she reads a letter from their son Barzan, sent while he was serving in the military years before. Barzan’s betrothed Seyran no longer has to wait; she can marry. One family after another keeps leaving the village. The couple live respectably, looking after each other as well as their home and their land. One day a trio of young mountain climbers takes refuge in their house. A blizzard is coming.… An allegory about people for whom time has stopped, who are unable to change their resigned way of life and who find it difficult to come to terms with family tragedy. Director Salem Salavati realized the film as an expanded version of his previous short Snowy Dreams, with the same picturesque winter scenery, calm, realistic style, and a visual sophistication approximating the artistic culture of Iranian Kurdistan. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)