Based on her own adolescent experiences, Sadaf Foroughi’s Ava is a gripping debut about a young girl’s coming-of-age in a strict, traditional Iranian family.
Living with her well-to-do parents in Tehran, Ava (Mahour Jabbari) is a bright and focused teen whose concerns — friendships, music, social status, academic performance — resemble that of nearly any teenager. When her mistrustful and overprotective mother (Bahar Noohian) questions her relationship with a boy — going so far as to visit a gynecologist — Ava is overwhelmed by a newfound rage. Formerly a model student, she begins to rebel against the strictures imposed by her parents, her school, and society at large. Exquisitely shot and composed with a remarkably controlled intensity, Ava looks repression in the eye and doesn’t flinch. In Persian with subtitles.
(Iran, Canada, Qatar / 2017 / Directed by Sadaf Foroughi)
Unrated / 1 hr 42 mins.
