General News
ABOUT 111 GIRLS Plays at SLIFF 2013 This Friday
In the satirical road movie ABOUT 111 GIRLS. the debut feature from the sister of Bahman Ghobadi (“A Time for Drunken Horses”) and her husband, a government official travels across Iranian Kurdistan with his driver and a young guide on a mission to stop 111 young Kurdish women from committing suicide in protest against conditions that have left them spinsters. Carrying a message from Iran’s president, they race against the clock and travel into territory simmering with resentment at official neglect and the hardship it has sown among a proud people. Against a dramatically colorful physical and human landscape, wistful longing mingles with absurdist humor as the three travelers meander helplessly in a land riddled with contradictions.
The Hollywood Reporter says if 111 GIRLS:
“111 Girls is unsubtle in its message that Iraq’s destructive legacy and a recent penchant for conflict are among the roots of Kurdish distress. It’s not a new idea, but Ghobadi and Zmanpira’s rendering of it is at once beautiful — Hamid Ghavami’s gorgeous, overwhelming cinematography underscores Kurdish isolation perfectly — and oddly humorous. The comedy of errors that unfolds around Donyadideh’s trip is simultaneously sad and simply goofy: the corrupt state police all sport bushy Saddam Hussein-style moustaches and the desert sprint by 111 “donated” Turkish grooms stand out as more offbeat moments. Finally Ghobadi (who also wrote the script) and Zmanpira tackle the role of incompetent and irresponsible media in spreading the girls’ story with little concern for truth and the power of social media — especially in a heavily censored part of the world — to disseminate the actual truth..”
ABOUT 111 GIRLS sceens Friday, Nov 15th at 4:15pm at the Plaza Frontenac Theater as part of the St. Louis International Film Festival.
Ticket Information can be found at Cinema St. Louis’ site HERE
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