Synopsis

Shahid (2024) is a political drama and a desperate comedy at the same time. It features historical heroes, contemporary criminals, and modern women having to deal with both. Shahid (2024) is a personal film, questioning all kinds of radical ideologies – while not taking itself all too seriously either.

Curators’ note

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Director’s bio

Narges Kalhor, born in Tehran in 1984, is a filmmaker who studied feature film directing at the Tehran Film Academy and later pursued visual communication at Kamalolmolk University. After receiving international attention for her political asylum application in 2009, she moved to Germany, where she studied at the University of Television and Film in Munich. Her work includes the award-winning short film DIE EGGE and the co-directed SHOOT ME, which won Best Film at Nonfiktionale 2014. Her documentary In the Name of Scheherazade won the Goethe Institute Award for Best Documentary at Dok-Leipzig Film Festival in 2019. Kalhor's most recent short film, Sensitive Content (2023), has been celebrated at festivals worldwide.

Director‘s statement

Although we often talk about feminism and diversity, our narratives remain shaped by male perspectives and dominated by homogeneity. SHAHID consciously breaks the conventional rules, the third wall between creators and viewers to which we have become accustomed in films and visual representations. Shahid (2024) challenges us to anchor femininity, not only visually, but also narratively. This is particularly important when discussing feminist resistance to patriarchal structures and the homogeneity of society. The film aims to bring new narratives to the powerful screen in order to rethink stories or at least faithfully preserve present moments for the future. The Cinemigrante - the cinema of all faces and their stories in the Western world - and femininity are what we are still very much lacking in the film industry today.

Festival & Awards

The world premiere of the 74th 74th Berlin International Film Festival in 2024

74th Berlin International Film Festival GWFF Best First Feature Award (Nominee)，Caligari Award

Casts

Credits

Scriptwriter: Narges Kalhor, Aydin Alinejadsomeeh

Cinematography: Felix Pflieger

Music: Marja Burchard

Editor: Frank J. Müller, Narges Kalhor