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Numb

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North American Premiere

Under Iranian law, from elementary school, boys and girls attend school separately. But in kindergarten and preschool there is no gender division. Numb follows a handful of boys and girls in their last year of pre-school as they learn to navigate gender whilst imitating the world of adults through make-believe and childhood games. Roham, the protagonist, is a six-year-old boy whose innocent love for classmate Rana and his curiosity about her shy and reluctant personality unravel dark and horrifying secrets of her life.  Amir Toodehroosta beautifully depicts the innocence that exists in childhood, even in a society where religion and pain cast a constant shadow. The filmmaker does not force these issues but allows them to surface through the gaze of this six-year-old boy who tries to make sense of the world and his place in it. The film’s stunning cinematography transports us directly into the world of childhood, as we see things through their lens not only conceptually but technically.

Director
Cast

Ayhan Shaygan, Shabnam Dadkhah, Nora Hanifeh Zadeh, Rayan Razmi

Credits
Country of Origin

Iran

Year

2022

Series

Focus

Language

In Farsi with English subtitles

Film Contact
18+
91 min
Action & Suspense Drama

Book Tickets

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Credits

Executive Producer

Sina Sharbafi

Producer

Amir Toodehroosta

Screenwriter

Amir Toodehroosta

Cinematography

Soroush Alizadeh

Editor

Maysam Samadi Bahrami

Original Music

Fardin Khalatbari

Director

Amir Toodehroosta headshot

Amir Toodehroosta

Amir Toodehroosta, an Iranian independent artist and filmmaker, was born in 1982 in Iran. He studied filmmaking at IYCS and Theater at Sooreh University. He has made two documentaries and seventeen short films which have been selected and awarded in many festivals. His first feature film Paat was selected for various international festivals including Warsaw and Tokyo. Numb is his second feature.

Filmography: Paat (2013)

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