Roxana (English subtitles)

A state-of-the-nation statement if you happen to be 30-ish, struggling for both employment and autonomy, and spinning your wheels in an unforgiving Tehran riddled with vice – which pretty much encompasses most people in the age bracket mentioned – Parviz Shahbazi’s fast-paced, unpredictable drama focuses on the slacker-ish Fred (an outstanding Yasna Mirtahmasb), an unemployed young man with a penchant for gambling, who lives with his ageing mother. Such is his sad situation that, at one point, his mother calls the police and tries to have him arrested for a lack of get-up-and-go. One day in the street, Fred helps a distraught Roxana (Mahsa Akbarabadi), who has just had her car window smashed and bag stolen, and an infatuation is born. Soon the eager Fred is helping out as Roxana’s assistant in her wedding-video enterprise. Can things work between them? Is Roxana all she appears to be? This being modern-day Tehran, the answers to those questions are far from simple. Winner of the Best Actor (Yasna Mirtahmasb) award at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

THIS FILM WILL ONLY BE SHOWN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES