CANCELLED Sunday, 30 November – 6.30pm – Palace Barracks Cinemas
BUY TICKETS Tuesday, 9 December – 6.30pm – The Australian Cinémathèque at GOMA
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
Banned in its country of origin, BAPFF is proud to present the World Premiere screening of Hadji Sha, a searing portrayal of the realities many women face in contemporary Iran.
The third feature-length film from Iranian director and screenwriter Ali Zamani Esmati, is the story of Hadji Sha, a 50-year-old woman who has lived disguised as a man for more than three decades in order to protect her sister’s family. When a new female tenant – an aspiring singer, in a country where women are forbidden to sing – moves into the building, a friendship develops as both women struggle with their hidden identities. But a shocking discovery could undo everything.
As with Orion, Esmati’s award-winning second feature, Hadji Sha deals with the precarious situation many women continue to face in Iran today. And like Orion, Esmati’s latest film is unlikely to be seen in his homeland – having been banned for depicting a woman with a shaved head.
