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Ghasideyeh gave sefid

Ballad of a White Cow
Competition 2021
© Amin Jafari
Mina’s life is turned upside down when she learns that her husband Babak was innocent of the crime for which he was executed. The authorities apologise for the mistake and offer the prospect of financial compensation. Mina starts a silent battle against a cynical system for her own and her daughter’s sake. Just as her money is running out, a stranger named Reza knocks at her door, saying he has come to repay a debt he owed to Babak. Mina is guarded at first, but increasingly lets Reza into her life, unaware of the secret that ties them to one another.
Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghaddam masterfully present guilt and atonement, a classic trope of Iranian film, as a cinema of small, precise gestures and spaces. Maryam Moghaddam excels in the role of a Mina caught between loneliness and her struggle for self-determination.
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by Behtash Sanaeeha, Maryam Moghaddam
with Maryam Moghaddam, Alireza Sanifar, Pourya Rahimisam, Avin Purraoufi, Farid Ghobadi, Lili Farhadpour Iran / France 2020 Farsi 105’ Colour

Part of the Berlinale Summer Special

With

  • Maryam Moghaddam (Mina)
  • Alireza Sanifar (Reza)
  • Pourya Rahimisam (Babak’s brother)
  • Avin Purraoufi (Bita)
  • Farid Ghobadi (Reza’s colleague)
  • Lili Farhadpour (Mina’s neighbour)

Crew

Directors Behtash Sanaeeha, Maryam Moghaddam
Screenplay Behtash Sanaeeha, Maryam Moghaddam, Mehrdad Kouroshnia
Cinematography Amin Jafari
Editing Ata Mehrad, Behtash Sanaeeha
Sound Design Hossein Ghourchian
Sound Abdolreza Heydari
Production Design Atoosa Ghalamfarsaie
Costumes Atoosa Ghalamfarsaie
Assistant Directors Arash Mashverat, Kiarash Sanaeeha, Ahmad Mokari
Production Manager Meysam Meraji
Producers Gholamreza Mousavi, Etienne de Ricaud

World Sales

Totem Films

Produced by

Filmsazan Javan

Caractères Productions

Photos

Behtash Sanaeeha

© Hamid Janipour

The Iranian filmmaker and producer was born in Shiras. After a degree in civil engineering, he began writing screenplays and directed short films, documentaries, commercials and animated series for television. His debut feature film, Risk of Acid Rain, explored the struggles of the Iranian middle-class and screened at over 30 international festivals. Working with Maryam Moghaddam, he made the documentary The Invincible Diplomacy of Mr Naderi about an eccentric Iranian who wants to reconcile his homeland and the USA. In 2018, he was a member of the jury for the Ingmar Bergman Award in Sweden.

Filmography

2015 Ehtemale Barane Acidi (Risk of Acid Rain) 2017 Diplomacie Shekastnapazire Aghaye Naderi (The Invincible Diplomacy of Mr Naderi); co-director: Maryam Moghaddam 2020 Ghasideyeh Gave Sefid (Ballad of a White Cow); co-director: Maryam Moghaddam

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2021

Maryam Moghaddam

© Hamid Janipour

The actor, screenwriter and diretor was born in Tehran, Iran. After graduating from the Performing Arts School in Gothenburg, Sweden, she worked as an actor in various Swedish theatres such as the Göteborgs Stadsteater. She has appeared in Iranian films including Closed Curtain, directed by Jafar Panahi and Kambuzia Partovis, which premiered at the Berlinale and won a Silver Bear. She co-wrote the screenplay for Risk of Acid Rain with Behtash Sanaeeha; the two also co-directed The Invincible Diplomacy of Mr Naderi.

Filmography

2017 Diplomacie Shekastnapazire Aghaye Naderi (The Invincible Diplomacy of Mr Naderi); co-director: Behtash Sanaeeha 2020 Ghasideyeh Gave Sefid (Ballad of a White Cow); co-director: Behtash Sanaeeha

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2021