I Am His Wife + Q&A (TBC) – 4th London Iranian Film Festival

This is a fascinating feature film, directed by Mostafa Shayesteh, that explores life within a middle-class family living in post-1979 Iran. It is a film about the trials of a marriage, and at the most basic level, it examines the lived experience of a young and at times unhappy woman. The woman finds herself married to a deeply cynical and cantankerous man. A nose surgeon, the husband finds little interest in his wife’s emotions and needs, spending most of his time at the surgery and acting arrogantly while at home. To watch this film is to be shown, brilliantly, what it means to be a wife and mother in contemporary Iran. An intense and powerful portrayal of an Iranian family, this is a very personal exploration of womanhood in post-revolutionary Iran.