Good Bye / Bé omid é didar
Iran / 2011 / 104 min.
Director: Mohammad RASOULOF
[Introduction]
Noora, a lawyer, lives in Tehran. Her journalist husband has gone into hiding in the countryside, and she is regarded suspiciously by the authorities who are searching for him. Disbarred after becoming pregnant and unable to contact her husband, she resolves to leave Iran. However, obstacles stand in Noora's way wherever she goes... "Good Bye," Mohammad RASOULOF's fourth feature, depicts the current state of affairs in Tehran amid extraordinary tension. Its directorial style is undeniably simple, but this seems to be the source of its power. Scenes such as the one in which police officers interrogate Noora and enter her apartment in a single long take are unequivocally superb. Leila ZARE is also wonderful as the heroine battling her cruel fate. In March 2010, RASOULOF and fellow filmmaker Jafar PANAHI were arrested, and this film was shot while he was out on bail. Screened in the Un Certain Regard section of this year's Cannes Film Festival, winning the Directing Prize.
Mohammad RASOULOF
Born in 1973 in Shiraz, Iran. Directed numerous short films before making his feature directorial debut in 2002 with "The Twilight," which was screened at many film festivals including Locarno and Montreal. His follow-up "Iron Island" (05), about people living on an abandoned oil tanker, was selected for the Cannes Film Festival's Directors' Fortnight and won considerable acclaim. After completing documentary "Head Wind" (08), his third feature "The White Meadows" (09) was screened in competition at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.
