A politically complacent middle-aged man and a young pro-democracy activist debate about the future of their country while hiding from the police, in this fascinating drama that blends scripted scenes with on-the-ground footage from Iran’s 2009 Green Revolution.

Red Rose

Sepideh and Darya. Mother and daughter. A successful young filmmaker and a child with clear ideas about how to make a film. Together they make a long journey to meet members of their large family: From Paris to Tehran and further beyond the Afghanistan border. By air, train, car, they never leave the tools of their trade: two video cameras, one of which is so small that it goes by unseen. On the way, they encounter landscapes, villages, voices and faces, too long separated by distance or disparate destinies. Travel time, story time: at night, Sepideh transforms their story into a bedtime lullaby for her daughter. The complex ramifications of a genealogical tree are gathered in a subtle family album.

Harat

Sepideh Farsi left Tehran in her teens, yet has always remained under the spell of Iran's lively capital. In 'Tehran Without Permission', Farsi creates a collage-style portrait of a city in flux. Via a mixture of characters and cityscapes, Farsi's covert filming reveals a city beset with social and political tensions, yet held aloft by the indomitable spirit and character of its population.

Tehran Without Permission

"Morteza, in his fifties and just out of jail, is trying to rebuild his life. However, when he is implicated in the drowning death of a child, he is instantly assumed to be guilty. Taher, the police officer assigned to the case, first believes in his guilt, but later becomes obsessed with proving Morteza's innocence. Directed by Sepideh Farsi, and stars Masoud Rayegany and Bijan Emkanian.