Fest of Duty

"Mother married a photo of Father," says director Firouzeh Khosrovani in the opening of this deeply personal documentary. She's not speaking metaphorically though. Her mother Tayi literally married a portrait of Hossein in Teheran -he was in Switzerland studying radiology and was unable to travel back to his homeland for the wedding. The event illustrates the abyss that still exists in their marriage: Hossein is a secular progressive and Tayi a devout, traditional Muslim.

Maryam is an involuntary immigrant in the US, who after forty years has not forgotten her escape from Iran’s border wrapped in a sheep’s skin. Maryam is always worried about her elderly parents and in constant visual connection with the home in Iran from thousands of kilometers through surveillance cameras. These cameras take her to the days of the 1979 revolution. Today, Iran is again experiencing turbulent days and now Maryam encounters her revolutionary past and revolutionary girls who are challenging the present system.