North American Premiere
Ilya is a normal, healthy four-and-a-half year-old boy. He goes to daycare and enjoys playing. He comes from a stable background with loving parents. But for reasons known only to himself, he has stopped talking. Contrary to what you might expect, Dornaz Hajiha’s superbly acted film zeroes in on the boy’s mom and dad, Haleh and Amir (Sepidar Tari and Shahdiyar Shakiba). In the first scene, a pyschologist probes their relationship and recommends that they reverse roles, that is, Amir should take over responsibility for getting Ilya dressed, feeding him, and the thousand other little things that his wife routinely does for their son. He grudgingly agrees. But it’s Haleh who really struggles with the new arrangement. She feels helpless and redundant. And Ilya still isn’t talking.
In her spare, empathetic first feature film, Hajiha establishes such authenticity, it’s almost as if we are watching an observational documentary. As the distressed parents consult one specialist after another, all to no avail, their own mental health suffers and the marriage cracks apart, leading to a devastating climax.
A transfixing and brooding, unafraid film where there are no winners. But there are truths to be had.”—Robert Daniels, RogerEbert.com
Q&A Oct 2 & Oct 4
Media Partner
Sepidar Tari, Shahdiyar Shakiba, Ali Ahmadi
Iran
2022
In Farsi with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Blue Trail
In a near-future Brazil, elderly citizens are forcibly relocated to live out their days in a senior housing colony. When 77-year-old Tereza learns that she will soon be taken away, she embarks on a fantastical odyssey into the Amazon.
Shifting Baselines
Towering rockets rise as wetlands vanish in this sly black-and-white documentary about SpaceX’s conquest of Boca Chica, Texas. With sci-fi aesthetics and observational calm, the film exposes how cosmic dreams begin with the quiet erasure of Earth.
A Poet
When embittered poet Oscar Restrepo takes a job at a local high school, he meets Yurlady, a talented student from a poor background. Seeking to help her cultivate her art, he draws her into the poetry world — to disastrous and comedic results.
La Salsa Vive
An exuberant celebration of salsa that traces the genre's evolution from New York City in the 1960s and 70s to Cali, Colombia — the salsa capital of the world. Carvajal’s documentary highlights the rich legacy of this musical form and the joy it inspires.
Memory of Princess Mumbi
Can a filmmaker depict the future without AI? Damien Hauser crafts a genre-blending Afro-speculative fable about love, war, and the future of storytelling in a resurrected African kingdom. A micro-budget epic fueled by digital invention and heart.
Winter Light
Da-bin has a broke mother, a runaway brother, and a sister who’s going deaf, but gets by thanks to his best friend and caring girlfriend. Poignant and poetic, this is a film that explores the pain of adolescence and the stress of competing loyalties.
Credits
Producer
Ehsan Rasoulof
Screenwriter
Dornaz Hajiha
Cinematography
Alireza Barazande
Editor
Ashkan Mehri
Director
Dornaz Hajiha
Dornaz Hajiha received her Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design from Alzahra University, Tehran, and graduated with an MA in Film Production from the London Film School in 2015. She has written and directed several short films and documentaries, including Marlon (2017) and Marziyeh (2017). Like a Fish on the Moon is her debut feature. Hajiha is currently developing her second feature, Diaphanous.