ROOBAH VA MAH SOORATI
France, Denmark, Iran, United States
2025 | 77 min. | Documentary

Millions of Afghan men and women live in Iran without permanent legal status or protection. Soraya, a sixteen-year-old Afghan artist, documents her own attempts to escape from Iran over a five-year period, using only her mobile phone, in the hope of joining her mother in Austria. Blending personal footage, animation and sculpture, the film lays bare Soraya’s determination to carve out her own path. Moving between scenes of escape, song and dance, it reveals her courage in the face of a violent husband and a conservative, sexist and patriarchal society, while showing how essential art is to her survival.

Directed by: Mehrdad Oskouei Oskouei, Soraya Akhlaghi
Written by: Mehrdad Oskouei, Amir Adibparvar
Produced by: Mehrdad Oskouei, Siavash Jamali
Cinematography: Soraya Akhlaghi
Editing: Amir Adibparvar
Original Score: Afshin Azizi
Sound: Soraya Akhlaghi, Hossein Ghoorchian
Animation: Mohammad Lotfali
Protagonist: Soraya Akhlaghi

Statement of the director:
In the past 19 years, working with the Center for Rehabilitation, I have made four films about young delinquents and murderers. In my first film, IT’S ALWAYS LATE FOR FREEDOM, I felt that my characters wanted a larger part in forming the narration of the film, and this thought stayed with me until my last film SUNLESS SHADOWS where I succeeded in obtaining this result in parts of the film.

Later, when I looked through the footage in the editing room, I was amazed by the atmosphere I felt through this material. When I decided to make this happen in my newest film, I did away with my entire filming crew on set.

After Soraya’s first trip to Turkey, when the filming continued upon her return to Tehran, she increased her knowledge of filmmaking by enrolling in classes on how to use a cell phone for making films. I spoke to her each night about the scenes she had taken and planned to take, and in this way, we coordinated a joint directorship.

Soraya, a 16-year-old artist, was in the middle of much destruction and was dreaming of a better future for herself. We want one of them to tell their story by themselves.

Production:
Oskouei Films
https://afoxunderapinkmoon.com/

World Sales:
CAT&Docs
https://www.catndocs.com/