Iran
10+4
Review by gloria wong.
This 'sequel' to Abbas Kiarostami's highly acclaimed Ten, which was also constructed of digital video 'dashboard' conversations between people in literal transit playing some aspect of themselves, is directed by the star of Ten, actress turned filmmaker Mania Akbari. 10+4 centres around Akbari's fight against breast cancer, and the impact that her illness has on her son and close friends. Like the work of her friend and mentor Kiarostami, Akbari writes films that exist in a gray zone between documentary and narrative, using elements and techniques of both to access a 'deeper truth' about their subjects. In the case of 10+4, that deeper truth is about life-threatening illness and the ways in which it does and does not change a person. Graceful details lovingly placed throughout the film (gestures, silences, looks) make Akbari's 10+4 a welcome addition to the small but growing catalogue of excellent films by Iranian women.
10 + 4
Mania Akbari | Iran | 2007 | 77min
Fri. Sept. 28 | 12:30pm | Empire Granville Theatre
Sun. Sept. 30 | 4:00pm | Ridge
Tue. Oct. 2 | 9:45pm | Empire Granville Theatre