66th THESSALONIKI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
31 OCTOBER → 9 NOVEMBER 2025
NEW HORIZONS: International Selection

Iran 2003 100 35mm B&W
In the town of Saveh, during the seventies, 14-year-old Emkan is torn between his deep, instinctual passion for artistic expression and his parents’ conviction that his creativity is an offence against their Muslim faith. When Maassoum, a girl of his age, moves into the neighbourhood, they strike up a tender friendship which will develop into love. Their relationship feeds Emkan’s burgeoning desires to explore his talents and experiment with arts he has not encountered before--photography and motion pictures. However, his father’s ongoing disapproval and the imminent outbreak of the Iranian Revolution present Emkan with the increasingly difficult task of negotiating the family’s traditions, his own faith, his irrepressible nature and his feelings for Maassoum.