Special: Rise and Shine World Sales has acquired the rights to sell the documentary A Sisters Tel Ahead of its international premiere on Tuesday Toronto International Film Festival.
Iranian filmmaker in documentary Leela believes The lens trains on her sister Nasreen, a gifted singer-songwriter who hopes to achieve nothing more than sharing her music with audiences. But Nasreen’s dream collides with a harsh reality in Iran, where the country’s Islamist rulers have decreed that women cannot perform in public.
A Sisters Tel It premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland last month, with the Rise and Shine co-founders in attendance. Stefan Kloss And Anja Dziersk.
“We saw the film at its world premiere in Locarno and were mesmerized,” Kloss and Dziersk said in a statement. “It’s a fragile, yet truly powerful voice coming out of Iran by an Iranian woman filmmaker who gives us a witness to the restrictions that women suffer. We are very happy to have signed a global sales deal with the producers ahead of the international premiere at TIFF. were able to do.”
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The film was produced by Iranian director-producer Afsaneh Salari at DocManiacs, known for its 2019 film festival hits. The Forbidden Stringsand Vadim Jendreko, known for his award-winning direction, in the film Mira A woman with 5 elephants (2009) and its creator for credit Blue Note Records (2018) and Taming the Garden (2021).
The sales deal, negotiated between Kloss and Dziersk and Mirra Film’s Jandreyko and Docmaniacs salary, covers all territories except Switzerland.
“Nasreen has the charisma of a star and gives Leela access to all her highs and lows,” TIFF chief documentary programmer Thom Powers writes in the festival program. “We find her striving to fulfill her artistic ambitions while navigating the demands of her two children, her marital tension and patriarchal pushback at every turn. Nasreen frequently clashes with her husband over his music and his nightly absences.
Powers adds, “When Nasreen sings, her voice radiates beauty, power and poetry that reshapes the world in her own vision. The film showcases a wonderful inner life that shines against the outside world.”
Amini worked on the documentary for seven years.
“My sister Nasreen once filled our house with her beautiful voice,” he writes in the director’s statement. “However, she stopped singing when she was forced to marry Mohammed. Over the years, Nasreen devoted herself to being an excellent wife and mother. However, Mohammed saw his role primarily as working outside the home, leaving Nasreen longing for the simple joys and affection of married life.
“When Hana was born, Nasrin confided in me, ‘I’m getting old, and I’m scared. My only achievement in life is being a mother of two children.’ I noticed a significant change in him. She decided to pursue her lifelong passion for singing even though it was forbidden for women to sing in public in Iran.”
Amini continues, “Over the seven years of filming Nasreen, I witnessed closely her journey of liberating her voice as a singer and as a woman. From a sensitive housewife, she gradually transformed into a woman in control of her own destiny. Nasreen’s release has inspired fundamental change for her children, for me, for my younger sister, for our mother and hopefully for our country.”
A Sisters Tel Screens at TIFF on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, as well as Sunday, September 15, the closing day of the festival.
“‘Women united in song’ could be the logline of this captivating film,” says Kloss and Dziersk Deadline. “In a country where women are not allowed to sing in public, Leila Amini shows her sister – mainly in her apartment in Tehran – her ambition to let her beautiful voice be heard. A wonderful allegory for Iran’s women’s liberation efforts.”
Rise & Shine World Sales describes itself as “one of the world’s leading boutique sales agents for high-quality documentary films. With a team of Stefan Kloss, Anja Dziersk and Diana Karklin, they boast a 15-year+ track record in sales and distribution.”
Includes recent Rise and Shine titles E.1027 – Eileen Gray and The House by the Sea, son of a mullah, Forest, Watching You – The World of Palantir and Alex Karp, Iceland’s day remained steady, Caravans and dogs, Nellie and Nadine, in the snow, Girl gangand an Oscar-nominated short documentary haulout.
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