Marjan Khosravi
Directing
Biography
Marjan Khosravi is an emerging Iranian filmmaker with a strong focus on women's rights and social issues in Iran. Throughout her career, she has made a number of outstanding short films and documentaries. Her first mid-length documentary, "The Snow Calls," was selected for the student competition at IDFA 2020 and went on to win the Best Feature Documentary award at the Big Sky IDFF. The film has also been been broadcasted by major platform and TVs such as VGTV, ORF and etc. Marjan's second endeavor, "VADIYAR," explores the realm of short fiction films. The work received significant acclaim, earning nominations for the grand prix and the Ingmar Bergman Award at the 40th edition of Uppsala ISFF. In 2021, Marjan made another impactful short documentary titled "The Dream of a Horse," which received a nomination for Best Short Documentary at the 62nd edition of Krakow FF. The film's recognition has led to its upcoming broadcast by POV/PBS. Most recently, in 2023, Marjan completed another short documentary titled "Mrs. Iran's Husband," which garnered acclaim and won the Best Short Film award at the 30th edition of Hot Docs. In 2024 Marjan finished her first feature documentary film, Requiem for a Tribe, which is premiered in the competitio section of Shnaghai IFF. This film won Hot Docs Forum and DMZ Pitching Prize. Marjan also is making her second feature documentary film, Dreams of the Wild Oaks that so far it has received Catapult development and IDFA Bertha Fund production support.
Known For
A wild animal attacks Sasan's pregnant mother, and the villagers believe that if a wild animal attacks a pregnant woman, all the residents of that village will be infected with the rabies virus, and the only way to save everyone is to kill that animal.
Vadiyar
Hajar is a 55-years-old Bahktiari woman from Iran who is betrayed by her family and forced to abandon her nomadic lifestyle. Climate change, urbanization and social issues have drastically diminished the traditional migratory activities of the Bakhtiari tribe from Southwestern Iran.
Requiem for a Tribe
Gender apartheid is front and centre in this pointed exploration of family and labour in Iran. Sultan Mohammad proposes taking a third wife as a way to maintain and expand his free labour force, to the consternation of his current wives.
Mrs. Iran's Husband
A race against time to save her freedom: Samaneh, a young Bakhtiari girl in Iran, must find a rare and endangered bird to escape a forced marriage and a tradition of Cease Blood Sacrifice, in a journey that challenges her beliefs and tests the limits of her father’s love.
Dreams of The Wild Oakes
In a mountainous but extremely green landscape goats jump over the rocks and laughing children run after them. In this paradise on earth, nomadic families have found their temporary home. From one of these families comes a teenage girl, Shahnaz. The girl should be getting married soon, but her thoughts are focused on the world of literature.
The Dream of a Horse
Mina is a young woman who has three daughters and now she is 9 months pregnant. She loves her life very much. Her husband would like to have a boy, but she hasn't been able to deliver a baby boy so far. The people of her society believe that a man must have at least one son and they put pressure on her. The relatives and her husband tell her that if the 4th baby is not a boy, she has to allow her husband to marry another woman so that she may give birth to a boy. Mina has decided not to know about her baby's gender till the day of the delivery to overcome all the stress and tensions, so she hasn't taken a Sonography test and she waits until the baby is born.
The Snow Calls
In a nomadic Iranian tribe, 16-year-old Lilifar is forced into an impossible situation when her father accidentally kills her groom on their wedding day. To preserve peace and save her father's life, tribal customs demand she marry a member of the slain family. Now, Lilifar must navigate the suffocating traditions that dictate her fate, torn between her love for her groom's younger brother and the burden of family honor. As tensions rise, she faces a harrowing journey to reclaim her freedom amid loyalty, love, and survival.