Shirin
a film by Abbas Kiarostami
2008
Starring:
Juliette Binoche
Mahnaz Afshar
Niki Karimi
Golshifteh Farahani
Leila Hatami
A vibrant, daringly original work from Abbas Kiarostami, Shirin is the flowering of an experimentalist streak that's been evident in many of the director's most well-known features.
Ostensibly an adaptation of a 12th century Persian poem about a young princess courted by two men, a nobleman and an artist, Kiarostami never shows us the film in question. What Shirin shows us – and indeed all it shows us – is an audience of more than 100 women who are deeply absorbed in watching a film we never see. We observe instead how the drama plays out on the faces of the audience, seen in close up, mostly one at a time – a mesmerising series of portraits of women, young and old, their expressions variously wistful, quizzical, amused, enraptured and distraught. A movie about a movie we never see, Shirin makes us active participants in a unique cinematic experience.
Juliette Binoche shot her scenes for Shirin during a controversial visit to Tehran in 2007.
The film premièred at the 2008 Venice Film Festival before debuting around the world at film festivals where it thrilled and bemused audiences alike.
Mahnaz Afshar
Pegah Ahangarani
Taraneh Alidoosti
Kamand Amir Soleymani
Khatereh Asadi
Vishka Asayesh
Darya Ashoori
Ra’na Azadivar
Pantea Bahram
Pouri Baneai
Afsaneh Bayegan
Juliette Binoche
Afsaneh Chehreh Azad
Shaghayegh Dehghan
Sahar Dolatshahi
Zahra Amir Ebrahimi
Homayoun Ershadi
Khatereh Eskandari
Setareh Eskandari
Ateneh Faghih Nasiri
Golshifteh Farahani
Shaghayegh Farahani
Bita Farahi
Elsa Firuz Azar
Soraya Ghasemi
Marjaneh Golchin
Fatemeh Gudarzi
Azita Hajian
Leila Hatami
Iren
Behnaz Jafari
Negar Javaherian
Falamak Jonidi
Fariba Kamran
Niki Karimi
Mahtab Keramati
Gohar Kheirandish
Niku Kheradmand
Sara Khoeniha
Baran Kosari
Fariba Kowsari
Nasrin Moghanloo
Ladan Mostofi
Fatemah Motamed-Aria
Fatemeh Naghavi
Yekta Naser
Roya Nonahali
Zhale Olov
Rabe’e Oskooyi
Mahaya Petrossian
Bahareh Rahnama
Leili Rashidi
Fahimeh Rastegar
Katayoun Riahi
Homeira Riazi
Ramona Shah
Elnaz Shakerdust
Arshia Shakiba
Marjan Shirmohammadi
Shohre Soltani
Hanie Tavassoli
Roya Taymourian
Hediyeh Tehrani
Sahar Valadbeigi
Leia Zanganeh
Merila Zare’i
Niousha Zeighami
Hamideh Kheirabadi
Directed by
Produced by
Cinematography by
Film editing by
Sound by
Sound editing by
Produced by
Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami
Mahmoud Kalari
Abbas Kiarostami
Arash Sadeghi
Mani Hashemian
Mohammad Reza Delpak
MK2 Productions
BFI
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