Over the course of twenty-five minutes, Elahe opens a door and welcomes us into her home as one family navigates a call for change that starts with parents, siblings, community, and friends, creating the ripples and waves of a greater, lasting generational shift. A Move is awaiting a UK-wide release date.
Western media rarely provides us with a glimpse of family life in Iran; instead, our media focuses its lens on the political differences, oppression and cultural barriers that exist between us and the Iranian people. As a result, we rarely gain a complete picture of daily life in Iran for the 89 million people who call it home.
However, one event did spark great media interest: the murder of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old arrested by Iran’s morality police for wearing her Islamic headscarf too loosely. Amini’s murder led to widespread protests as young Iranian women demanded an end to the compulsory hijab and years of state-sanctioned discrimination and oppression of women. A movement began to take shape, one that chanted “Women, Life and Freedom,” and it wasn’t long before many young men joined in solidarity, cementing the movement’s place as a brave call for change in a country where the ruling forces have long controlled public discussion and debate.
However, watching those protests on our rolling news channels only gave us half the story. It didn’t allow us to explore how change was happening at a grassroots level in Iranian families, nor did it provide a full picture of the generational shift underway among young people in cities and towns. In her honest, enlightening and beautifully shot documentary A Move, director Elahe Esmaili opens a window on that change and the family conversations it generates as we follow Elahe and her sisters as they gather at their family home to help their parents prepare for a big move to a new apartment.
As Elahe arrives, she is wearing jeans, a loose top, and no head covering. Her mother is supportive and full of love for her daughter, but also worried and scared for her future in a country where the secret police still roam every street, looking for those who disobey the rules. But Elahe is confident, bold and unwilling to let go of the freedom she feels must take root in Iran, no matter the risks. Elahe’s delicate, intimate and honest documentary features candid conversations around women’s rights, religious rules, and unconditional love as one family comes together for celebrations and support during a period of change.
In many ways, Elahe’s family are just like yours or mine, as they discuss social issues, eat, drink and celebrate the strength and love of their family unit. But as Elahe’s mother prays alone, tears roll down her cheek. She wants her daughter to be safe and secure; she wants her to do everything she desires and loves her with all her heart, but she fears her rebellion.
Over the course of twenty-five minutes, Elahe opens a door and welcomes us into her home as one family navigates a call for change that starts with parents, siblings, community, and friends, creating the ripples and waves of a greater, lasting generational shift. Elahe’s documentary gives us hope that one day the waves of that change will bring about a tectonic shift in creating a new age of enlightenment and equality in Iran.
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