A Move

a film by

UK, Iran | 27' | 04/2024 | documentary

Elahe returns to her hometown in Mashhad, Iran, to help her parents move to a new place after 40 years. Influenced by the Woman-Life-Freedom movement, she's also hoping for a bigger move beyond just a new apartment.

“astonishing in how natural and well-covered the observational scenes are, and how quietly revelatory the act of going bareheaded is in this time and place.”
Square Eyes - CROPPEDLauriers-202431
“astonishing in how natural and well-covered the observational scenes are, and how quietly revelatory the act of going bareheaded is in this time and place.”
Square Eyes - CROPPEDLauriers-202431
Crew Festivals Press materials Press & Jury quotes

Elahe Esmaili

Biography

Award winning documentary filmmaker. MA graduate in Directing, National Film and Television School, UK. BA Alumna from Tehran University of Art, Iran. Elahe’s first film, The Doll (2021), was awarded Best International Short at Hot Docs 2021 and nominated and selected for prestigious awards like Critics Choice Awards, International Documentary Association (IDA), Student Academy Awards as well as more than 50 other festivals including Full Frame Documentary FF, Atlanta FF, Athens IFVF. Her second short Can I Hug You? premiered in Sheffield Docs 2023 and was supported by IDA and One World Media, and co-produced by German public broadcaster DW.
In general, Elahe concerns herself with children’s and women’s rights and issues around it, as well as stories about successful women in the world who push boundaries and overcome these issues.

Filmography

  • The Doll – 2021 – short student documentary
  • Can I Hug You – 2023 – short documentary
  • A Move – 2024 – short documentary
Square Eyes -

Crew

Director: Elahe Esmaili
Writing: Elahe Esmaili
Producer: Hossein Behboudi Rad
Image: Mehdi Azadi
Sound Design: Ensieh Leyla Maleki
Sound Recordist: Anonymous
Colorist: Anonymous
Editor: Delaram Shemirani
Composer: Afshin Azizi

Festivals

  • Visions du Réel – International Film Festival, Switzerland (12 – 21 April, 2024)
    International Medium Length & Short Film Competition Won: Special Youth Jury Award
  • Huesca International Film Festival, Spain (7 – 15 June, 2024)
    Documentary Competition Won: First Prize – Documentary Danzante Award
  • Sheffield DocFest, United Kingdom (12 –17 June, 2024)
    Official Selection
  • International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala, India (26 – 31 July, 2024)
    Official Selection
  • Concorto Film Festival, Italy (17 – 24 August, 2024)
    Competition
  • Interaction: Short Docs Festival, Serbia (20 – 27 August, 2024)
    Competition
  • Telluride Film Festival, United States (30 August – 2 September, 2024)
    Calling Cards or Great Expectations program
  • DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, South Korea (26 September – 2 October, 2024)
    Verite Section
  • Un Festival C’est Trop Court!, France (4-11 October, 2024)
    Competition
  • BFI London Film Festival, United Kingdom (9-20 October, 2024)
    Official Selection
  • SFFilm Doc Stories, United States (17 – 20 October, 2024)
    Op-Docs Screening
  • New Orleans Film Festival, United States (17-27 October, 2024)
    Competition
  • Women Make Waves International Film Festival, Taiwan (October 18 – 27, 2024)
    Official Selection
  • Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, United States (October 18 – 26, 2024)
    TBC
  • Montclair Film Festival, United States (October 18 – 27, 2024)
    Official Selection
  • Uppsala Short Film Festival, Sweden (21-27 October, 2024)
    International Competition
  • International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film – DOK Leipzig, Germany (28 October – 3 November, 2024)
    International Competition Documentary Film

Password




Press materials

EPK: Click here

Stills & directors photos: Click here

Dialogue list English: Click here

Embeddable trailer: Vimeo & Youtube

Downloadable excerpts & trailer: Click here

Press / Jury quotes

“This documentary brings viewers into the experience of an Iranian family in flux as it faces small changes along with others that have much wider implications. It’s an unforgettable testament to the bravery necessary to fight oppression – whether it’s imposed or internalized – and to do so with tenacity, empathy and a mischievous sense of humour. ”
Uppsala International Short Film Festival – Grand Prix

“For the director’s choice of proposing an intimate point of view of how the political permeates the family relationships in the current Iran repressive context. The act of filming becomes a transformative element and with love and tenderness it involves us in disagreements and encounters of its environment.”
Huesca International Film Festival – Documentary Dazante Award

“A Move takes a step back, bringing the topic of women’s freedom back home and looking at it through a lens of friends and family. It captures the necessity of these conversations on the smaller scale, helping those close to you understand the importance of having choices and how bowing to please others undermines that.”
Review: Rebecca Cherry – Film Carnage

“This film is astonishing in how natural and well-covered the observational scenes are, and how quietly revelatory the act of going bareheaded is in this time and place.”
Review: Carol Nahra – Documentary Magazine

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