Double Feature: The Painting Pool + Don’t Be Tired (4th London Iranian Film Festival)

The Painting Pool - Feature Film (UK Premiere)

Iran / 2013/ dir. Maziar Miri / Persian with English subtitles


Charming, devastating and thoroughly unique, 'The Painting Pool' manages to treat a subject often neglected by mainstream cinema with a refreshing degree of honesty and compassion. Maryam and Reza are adults with severe learning disabilities who, having met some years earlier in a hospital, are now married with a son, Soheil. Soheil's schoolwork is beginning to surpass the abilities of both his parents. Soheil is becoming increasingly frustrated, and after a particularly heated argument, in which he destroys his mother's painting book, runs away to stay with the family of a friend, leaving his parents to struggle with work, money and heartbreak while they try to reunite their family. 'The Painting Pool' offers a story that is often heartwarming and humorous despite its tragic moments, and is at its heart an affecting and relatable exploration of love and family.


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Don't Be Tired - Feature Film (UK Premiere)

Iran / 2012/ dir. Mohsen Gharaei / Persian with English subtitles


Maryam, having left Iran for Canada with her family at the age of five, returns to her homeland for the benefit of Roman, her carefree geologist husband. Instigated by adventure seeking Roman, an impromptu road trip ensues, led by childlike and cheerful Morteza. Reluctantly Maryam joins, as does Hossein, the brooding cousin of Morteza. The unlikely foursome set off in an old VW style camper van across the Iranian desert in search of the Kalut. An unlucky course of events means the four are forced to stay at the home of the hospitable Miss Hakim where an unlikely bond develops between Hossein and Maryam. Comical dialogue, as a result of misunderstandings in language, provides light relief, as do the blue haze of the sky and the sand coloured rocks of the desert that softly colour the film. What was intended as a sightseeing jaunt leads to an unexpected personal journey that reignites a lust for life and living.