Paris-based Cat&Docs has acquired worldwide rights to “Grand Me,” directed by Iranian filmmaker Atiyeh Zare Alandi. The documentary, about an Iranian woman within the midst of a custody battle, will make its world premiere on the NEXT:WAVE collection at CPH:DOX on March 18th.
Set in Isfahan, Iran, Grand Me tells the story of Melina, who has lived together with her grandparents since her dad and mom’ divorce. She needs to reside together with her mom, however that isn’t potential as each her father and her new stepfather are in opposition to it. In addition, Melina’s mom struggles to steadiness her relationship together with her new associate and sustaining relationship together with her daughter.
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On her ninth birthday, Melina is lastly sufficiently old to file a custody case in courtroom. With the regulation on her facet, she needs to decide on her personal guardian. Unfortunately for her, Melina doesn’t understand how the grownup world is organized and the way issues will unfold.
“The thought for this movie happened when Melina informed me that she wished to be a movie director, making movies utilizing her cellphone, like me,” explains Melina’s aunt Zare Alandi. . “You may see how a lot this ego shoot gave Melina confidence. It additionally highlighted how filmmaking offers her confidence. Melina feels empowered and self-sufficient. She continues to discover a strategy to break away from the merciless house setting she was in. Filming herself and permitting me to movie her and her household was an necessary step on this course of.”
She additional added: “As the aunt of the principle character within the movie, my closeness and closeness to the characters gave the story a dynamic, unaffected and practical really feel. Filmed for 2 years and with unique detailed entry Through this, the presence of cameras in the home has grow to be invisible and my household has proven trustworthy and genuine conduct.”
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Zare Alandi states that the main focus is on Melina and the emotional course of she goes by. “This course of is inherently tied to folks’s particular cultural and social backgrounds. I really feel that Melina’s story must be informed. She isn’t solely very near me, but additionally a world It’s additionally as a result of it is acknowledged by so many individuals inside. Telling this story by the eyes of a kid brings a brand new perspective.”
Zare Alandi hopes the movie can have a optimistic influence on separated dad and mom and contribute to a greater notion of kids’s well-being.
“We strongly consider in tales that aren’t simply informed about the principle character, however can seize distinctive variations of occasions and views. ‘Grand Me’ is concerning the significance of younger voices and the should be heard. It reveals that we’re working onerous to get what we wish,” says Maëlle Guénégues of Cat&Docs. “Through belief, heat, and insider privilege, we not solely find out about a younger woman emotionally torn aside by her dad and mom’ divorce, but additionally the influence their selections have on the complete household. At the identical time, and Although not the guts of the movie, the movie can be an intimate have a look at household dynamics throughout the framework of bigger patriarchal forces.”
The movie is produced by Bram Krolls of Belgium’s Associate Directors. Co-producers are Iran’s ATAM Film, Belgium’s VRT and Qatar’s Al Jazeera Documentary Channel. This challenge is supported by the Audiovisual Fund of Flanders (VAF) and the Belgian Development Cooperation (DGD), and from the tax shelter system of the Belgian Federal Government by the DMZ Document Industry, the Documentary and Experimental Film Center (DEFC) and the Flanders Tax Shelter. We have additionally acquired further assist.
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