Film Screening:

About Elly
(Asghar Farhadi, 2009, 119 min, Iran, in Farsi w/ English subtitles, Color, Blu-Ray)

-- Introduced by Sajad Modaresi, Vice-President of the Graduate Student Association of Iranians at Duke!

-- Winner for Best Director at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival
-- Best Narrative Feature at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival

With the return of their friend Ahmad from Germany, a group of old college pals (two married couples and a brother and sister, along with three young kids) decide to reunite for a weekend outing by the Caspian Sea. The fun starts right away as they quickly catch on to the plan of lively Sepideh, who has brought along Elly, her daughter's kindergarten teacher, in hopes of setting her up with recently divorced Ahmad.

But seemingly trivial lies, which start accumulating from the moment the group arrives at the seashore, suddenly swing round and come back full force when one afternoon Elly suddenly vanishes. Her mysterious disappearance sets in motion a series of deceptions and revelations that threaten to shatter everything they hold dear.

-- "Superbly acted, morally challenging, packed with legitimate suspense, this is film-making of a high order." -- Observer [UK]

-- "Incredibly gripping and brilliantly directed, About Elly is a truly memorable and emotionally engaging Iranian drama with an outstanding lead performance by Golshifteh Farahani." -- ViewLondon

-- "About Elly confirms director Asghar Farhadi as a major talent in Iranian cinema whose ability to chronicle the middle-class malaise of his society is practically unrivaled." -- The Hollywood Reporter

Cost: Free and open to the public.

Sponsors: The Graduate Student Association of Iranians at Duke (GSAID) and the Program in the Arts of the Moving Image (AMI).