Winner, APSA NETPAC Development Prize, 2014
Navid, a student in Tehran, finds himself thrown out of university because of his political activities, but not before he has met the beautiful Setareh, who becomes his fiancée. Navid lives with a couple of struggling musicians in a building marked for demolition. He loses his job and finds work showing apartments to the potential tenants, with the hope that he can also find and afford his dream home. But Setareh’s father questions his ability to provide for her future. When the mounting stress and anxiety becomes too much for Navid, he visits a doctor who prescribes medication and tells him to repeat the mantra “I’m not angry”. Navid risks everything when he begins to take his medication too frequently.
“A stunning and heart-breaking love story, depicting the social and political disaster of the former Iranian president, with convincing characters and settings, proving the talented filmmaker’s ability to control all aspects of his film, the image, and performances and even editing for a maximum effect.”
– Jury citation
The 2014 APSA Academy NETPAC Jury comprised APSA International Nominations Council members: Prof Hong-Joon Kim (Republic of Korea), Mohammad Atebbai (Islamic Republic of Iran) and Wang Qun (People’s Republic of China).
The Asia Pacific Screen Academy expresses its respect for and acknowledgement of the South East Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of country, including the custodial communities on whose land works are created and celebrated by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. We acknowledge the continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We also pay our respects to Elders, past and emerging. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.