A Move

Elahe returns to her hometown in Mashhad, Iran to assist her family's move to a new house after 40 years. Even though Elahe stopped wearing hijab many years ago, she still had to wear it when she was among her religious family. Influenced by the Woman Life Freedom movement, she has decided to stop wearing the hijab on all occasions, which is challenging for her deeply religious family's norms.

As they move home, in an intimate and honest atmosphere this documentary takes us into the unique space of an Iranian family after the big social movement, highlighting that the feminist resistance still exists, despite all the suppressions. It explores this parallel transformation within Elahe's family and her homeland; and in this context, it suggests that not only Elahe’s home, but potentially her homeland too, will be a better home for everyone, when no one forces their opinion on the other and everybody coexists in peace.

Elahe Esmaili

Elahe is an MA alumna in directing fiction at National Film and Television School in the UK. She was ranked 1st on the university entrance exams (Konkour) and did her BA in film at Tehran University of Art.

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Elahe’s first film was her BA graduation film, a short doc titled "The Doll". It is awarded as Best International Short at Hot Docs 2021 and nominated/selected for prestigious awards like International Documentary Association(IDA), Critics Choice Awards, Student Academy Awards, One World Media Award as well as prestigious festivals include more that 10 Oscar qualifying festivals such as Full Frame Documentary FF, Atlanta FF, Athens IFVF, Kerala IDSFFK well as tens of other International festivals like Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival. (Overall more than 50 festivals)

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Her second documentary "Can I Hug You?" was world premiered at the International Short Competition at Sheffield Doc Fest, Jun 2023. It also won the award for best short documentary at SIMA awards. It also won the IDA ACI award, and some other awards.

It is acquired by the DW Germany channel and will be aired on it later in 2024.

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"A Move" won the best pitch award at Dok Leipzig Germany 2023, and the best short award by the youth jury in Visions du Reel 2024.

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"Shadow", her NFTS gradfilm and Elahe's debut fiction short is on the official selection of Cleveland International Film Festival, USA, April 2024, and ShortShorts Film Festival & Asia, Japan, June 2024.

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