We are  very thrilled to kickstart a monthly collaboration with Rawy, a newly founded collective of passionate film explorers on a mission to cultivate a community around independent SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) films. Rawy aims to scout raw talents and untold stories, bringing them to life on the big screen through curating pop-up events in iconic arthouse cinemas internationally and locally.

"Reminiscing the Past: Absurd Iranian Shorts" is a curated collection of short films that delve into the enigmatic nature of memory. These films explore the interplay between nostalgia and the surreal, inviting viewers to contemplate the profound impact of the past on the present.

In ROYA, the filmmaker pieces together footage from their only journey back to Iran, creating a hybrid narrative that blurs the line between memory and imagination in order to explore questions of belonging, self-discovery, and identity. WHITE WINGED HORSE, follows a man who returns to his war-torn hometown, hoping to find an old friend, only to find ghosts of the past haunt his cherished memories. FALLING UP is a whimsical journey into the unexpected, where a man's disrupted dreams lead to a surreal encounter with a girl who shares his fantastical dreamscape. Both INTERLUDE and FOR THE SECOND TIME explore the universal themes of ambition and the yearning for self-expression. In INTERLUDE, a stagehand escapes into fantasies of stardom during the interludes, while in FOR THE SECOND TIME, Sareh, a young woman from a restrictive environment, defies expectations to pursue her passion for acting.

“Reminiscing the Past: Absurd Iranian Shorts” presents 5 short films sharing themes of revisiting the past, bound by absurd storylines and surreal elements. Each film encourages viewers to contemplate the nature of memory and the inexplicable ways in which past experiences continue to influence us.

ROYA 

Rosh Zeeba, Iran 2024, 19 mins. Experimental, Farsi and English with English subtitles

WHITE WINGED HORSE

Mahyar Mohammadi, Iran 2023, 20 mins. Fiction, Farsi with English subtitles 

FALLING UP

Maryam Bakhtiari, Iran 2022, 15 mins. Fiction, Farsi with English subtitles

FOR THE SECOND TIME

Leila Akhbari, Iran 2021, 19 mins. Fiction, Farsi with English subtitles 

INTERLUDE

Golzar Farzaneh, Iran 2023, 13 mins. Fiction, Farsi with English subtitles