THE FRIEND’S HOUSE IS HERE Discovery

Pari and Hanna are artist friends in Tehran who divide their time between their day jobs, making art, socializing with fellow artists and sharing a home as roommates. Their daily lives unfold within a bubble of freedom and creativity where they can exist authentically, even as the oppressive conditions beyond that fragile space increasingly loom over their activities and decisions, from Pari staging her avant-garde plays exclusively on the underground theater circuit to Hanna’s choice to emigrate. When the bubble finally bursts, both friends must find ways to remain true to themselves as they confront a traumatic encounter with the regime and the risk of losing what they cherish most.
Winner of the Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast at Sundance, THE FRIEND’S HOUSE IS HERE was shot in secret by filmmaking duo Hossein Keshavarz and Maryam Ataei and smuggled out of Iran on a hard drive. Paying homage to the Iranian New Wave and classic Italian neorealism, the film offers an intimate portrait of contemporary Tehran from the perspectives of its young, defiant female protagonists while celebrating their boundless creativity and communal solidarity in the face of threatening forces. –Natalia Ames