Jet Homoet (The Netherlands) and Sharog Heshmat Manesh (Iran) | Iran | 2011 | 82 min | Farsi and Dutch spoken, English subtitles
Voices from the Middle East, in collaboration with Beeld voor Beeld – Documentary Film Festival on Cultural Diversity
Daughters of Malakeh shows how three generations of women in contemporary Iran have to struggle to be who they want to be. They have to navigate two conflicting hemispheres; one which is situated in the outside world where women have to submit to a male-dominated power structure and the other world inside the family home, where the women call the shots. The clash between these two power structures becomes even more apparent when Maryam decides to get married. The entire family gets involved. Via Maryam’s brother, director Sharog Heshmat Manesh, we enter the inside world, which usually remains impenetrable for outsiders. The film therefore offers a unique and uncensored window on family life in Iran.
