Khatemeh (Persian: خاتمه) is a documentary written and directed by two brothers, Mehdi and Hadi Zarei.[1] It won the Best Director award for Full-length Documentary and the Best Editing award at the Iran International Documentary Film Festival, as well as the Best Feature Film at the Florence Film Awards.[2]

Khatemeh
Theatrical release poster
Khatemeh
Directed byMehdi and Hadi Zarei
Written byMehdi and Hadi Zarei
Produced byMehdi and Hadi Zarei
CinematographyMehdi and Hadi Zarei
Edited byBabak Heydari
Music bySattar Oraki
Distributed byRaft Films
Release date
  • 15 August 2019 (2019-08-15) (Florence)
[1]
Running time
89 minutes
CountryIran
Languagespersian, Pashtu

Plot

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The structure of Khatemeh's family, who originally came from Afghanistan and have been living in Shiraz, Iran, for more than thirty years, is rigid. A fourteen-year-old girl was married to a man double her age. He was in a relationship with her older sister, who took her own life. He says: “When she died, I wanted to marry her sister because they look alike.” According to the men in the house, mental problems are common to all the women in the family. Khatemeh has run away to a women's refuge because she couldn't stand it any longer. She asks for a divorce. Some male relatives go to the refuge to take Khatemeh away with them. Her brother says: “Death is better than being a whore.” At first glance, the situation seems clear. In the course of the film, however, more and more discrepancies emerge. Khatemeh shifts unpredictably between mental states. Sometimes she curses her family and fights for her freedom, then other times she implores the women who run the refuge on her knees to let her go home no matter what. Other girls, who also took refuge in the home, are sometimes attacked violently by her. “Khatemeh” is like a desert storm which obscures the viewer again and again, then reveals a new vista when it has died down.[3][4]

Awards and nominations

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Award Date Place Category Recipient(s) Result
Life After Oil International Film Festival 2021 Sassari, Italy ‌Best Film Mehdi Zarei, Hadi Zarei Won
AmDocs Film Festival 2020 Palm Springs, United States Best Documentary Film Mehdi Zarei, Hadi Zarei Nominated[5]
Cardiff International Film Festival 2020 Cardiff, UK Best Documentary Film Mehdi Zarei, Hadi Zarei Nominated
Golden Tree International Documentary Festival 2020 Frankfurt, Germany Best Documentary Film Mehdi Zarei, Hadi Zarei Nominated
Herat International Women Film Festival 2020 Kabol, Afghanistan Best Documentary Film Mehdi Zarei, Hadi Zarei Won[6]
Liberation Docfest Bangladesh 2020 Dhaka, Bangladesh Best Documentary Film Mehdi Zarei, Hadi Zarei Nominated
International Film Festival-FICNOVA 2020 Madrid, Spain Best Documentary Film Mehdi Zarei, Hadi Zarei Nominated
Florence Film Awards 2019 Florence, Italy Best Feature Film Mehdi Zarei, Hadi Zarei Won[1]
Dok Leipzig 2019 Leipzig, Germany Best Feature Film Mehdi Zarei, Hadi Zarei Nominated[3][7]
ÍRÁN:CI 2019 Prague, Czech Republic Best Feature Film Mehdi Zarei, Hadi Zarei Nominated
Cinema Vérité Iran 2018 Tehran, Iran Best Feature Film Mehdi Zarei, Hadi Zarei Won[8]
Best Editing Babak Heidari Won[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "WINNERS - AUGUST 2019". Florence Film Awards. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  2. ^ "'Khatemeh' goes to Florence Film Awards in Italy". 8 September 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  3. ^ a b "KHATEMEH". Dok. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  4. ^ "Iran in focus: 62. Leipzig documentary and animation festival". AllInfo. 2 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  5. ^ “Khatemeh” documentary to vie in US festival
  6. ^ THE 6TH EDITION OF HERAT INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S FILM FESTIVAL CONCLUDES
  7. ^ "62nd DOK Leipzig picks six Iranian films". Tehran Times. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  8. ^ a b "Selected for the Twelfth International Film Festival". Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
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