They

In the aftermath of a devastating rumor, Iman and his family have been forced to flee Iran. As refugees, they end up in a run-down hotel in northern Sweden. Despite feeling powerless, Iman tries to maintain his role as the family patriarch. To increase their chances of asylum, he breaks a promise to his wife and joins the local wrestling club. As the rumours start to resurface, Iman’s fear and desperation begin to take a hold.

Directed by: Milad Alami
Production Year: 2023
Country: Sweden
Length: 119 minutes

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Credits

Director: Milad Alami
Writer: Milad Alami
Producers: Annika Rogell, Sandra Warg, Peter Possne
Cinematographer: Sebastian Winterø
Production Designer: Thomas Øyjordsbakken
Composer: Jon Ekstrand, Carl-Johan Sevedag
Editor: Olivia Neergaard-Holm
Sound Designer: Andreas Franck

Cast

Payman Maadi
Marall Nasiri
Björn Elgerd
Ardalan Esmaili
Arvin Kananian
Nicole Mehrbod
Diana Farzami
Magnus Mark
Joonas Saartmo

Australian Premiere | 2017

Sunday 10 September 3:15pm

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Director's Biography

Anahita Ghazvinizadeh (born 1989 in Tehran, Iran) received her BFA in film from Tehran University of Art and her MFA in studio arts from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. When the Kid was a Kid (2011, Iran), Needle (2013, USA) and The Baron in the Trees (2015, USA) form the trilogy of short films directed by her with children as main characters. Childhood and parenthood, family theater, and exploring notions of growth and gender identity are the main themes of these works. She is the winner of the First Cinéfondation Award at Cannes and the Silver Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival among other awards. Anahita was selected as one of the 25 New Faces of Independent filmmaking in 2013 by the Filmmaker Magazine. She was a writing fellow at the Sundance Screenwriters’ Lab in January 2013, and is also the co-writer of the acclaimed feature film, Mourning (2011, Iran). Anahita's feature debut THEY will premiere in the Official Selection of the 2017 Festival de Cannes.

Synopsis

Fourteen-year-old J goes by the pronoun ”They” and lives with their parents in the suburbs of Chicago. J is exploring their gender identity while taking hormone blockers to postpone puberty. After two years of medication and therapy, J has to make a decision whether or not to transition. Over this crucial weekend while their parents are away, J’s sister Lauren and her Iranian friend/partner Araz arrive to take care of ”They”.

Festivals

Cannes Film Festival 2017

Production Team

Director	Anahita Ghazvinizadeh
Country	USA, Qatar
Runtime	80 min
Language	English & Persian with English Subtitles
Premiere Status	Australian Premiere
Classification	18+
Year	2017
Screenwriter	Anahita Ghazvinizadeh
Producer	Zoe Sua Cho, Simone Ling
Cinematographer	Carolina Costa
Editor	Anahita Ghazvinizadeh, Dean Gonzalez
Cast	Rhys Fehrenbacher, Koohyar Hosseini, Nicole Coffineau