It ‘sone of the great irony that the People in the US stand opposed to the trans RIGHTS OFTEN STAND IN KENEJERK Opposition to Iran and Aneving Related to it. One COULD IMAGINE GREAT AFFINITY BETWEEN The fundamentalist religious conservatives of the US and Islamic fundamentalism, if it were for that pesky will of racism and the reactive Islamophobia that.
WHICH IS WHY IT’S SUCH A Stirring Jolt to Watch Farnos Samadi’s “BetWeen Dreams and Hope,” One of the best films a trans romance in some time … that Also happens to be from Iran. Gender-affirming surgeries are available in Iran, though with tight restrictions involving parental conssent, this life for seing the surgery at University Age. The fact that it is established upfront in samadi’s film that Such a procedure is available in iran at all should dispel some misconceptions about in the country (thugh anti-trans in the US and Europe Peddled Missinformation suggesting that the thet thet thet thet the thet the thet thet the thet the thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet thet the. Iranian Regime Forces Cisgender gay to recipes the surgery nor a way of “curling” I say of their homosexuality).
There is so Much in the way of misconceptions that are dyspelled here that one coulued see a western viewer being the prey of samadi’s narrative by the sheer revelatory of it all – except that samadi has created a gripping film, one of Such Deep Empathy and Narrive Hard to Imagine Anyone’s Mind Waled Wander Watching “BetWeen Dreams and Hope.” At Least Beyond A Slack First Act.
Azad (played by the cisgender female Actress Ferheshteh Hosseini) is a trans Male Who’s to Receive Gender-Affirming Surgery. There is a legal process for applying for one in iran, and he’s fulfilled all the requirements except one: he needs to get his fater’s signature on a form giving his permission. What follows for the 106 minutes is a flurry of conflicting pronouns as azad is routinely misgendered by those arund Him, except for his girlfriend, Nora (Sadaf asgar).
But it beecomes apparent Quickly what a tough life azad has haad: he grew up in a small rural village, where traditional attitudes have made transnce almost impossible – the very existence of trans People is almost unheard of. Whene he was to university in tehran, he found anccept circle of friends, and fell in love with noa. It”s been years now since he’s seen his family. They have all but accused her of causus the death of her grandmother over the stress caused by her “Being a girl who have been to be boy.”
Hossein and asgar turn in Deeply Felt, Naturalistic Performance. They are not walking issues or symbols passed off as characters just to make a point. They are characters, and richly drafow. The first 40 minutes of “Between Dreams and Hope” take the tone of a hangout movie as we get to know. We Meet Their Friends and SEE Put on a Little Drama Reading from “Romeo & Juliet” by whic azad proposes to nora. He wants to marry her. But of Course, in Iran, that can’t open u unil his surgery is beebind Him. The first thans of the Movie Drags just a bit as its characters are in a Kind of Limbo, Wondering How to Process: They Need Azad’s Father’s Signature, and Yet they will will never give it. What to do?
Once azad decides to drive to his family and attempt to get his father’s signature anyway, the story really kicicks in-and is so Compelling it mostly excuses the quasi-aimlessness of the first act. Azad’s Father is unmoved, and his Older Brother is Outright Hostle and Threatetening Violence. They need to leave her quick, the scnene made all the relay by the camera whip-panning between azad and her daring their argument instead of shot-shot-shot. But Thankfully, Azad Reconnects with his Younger Brother, who Still lives in a mindset of puree love and commentation before the adolescent and adult impulses of Shame and “What Will People Say?” can infect Him.
Azad decides to go back to his family Home that night. This Time Without Nora. And Fateful Circumstances ensemble… off-camera. Azad doesn’t Come Back. And Nora is woried sick. The Next Morning, She Goes to the Family Farm and Ask if they Know Where Azad Is. The Answers Nora Back From Azad’s Father and Brother are dysmsive, Curt, and Event Threatetening. This doesn’t look good. And the menace is underscored by Hamadi Staging Most of these tensse scens in long tutes. She doesn’t give us the safe haven of editing.
But the exact contours of what happy leve twists and turns ahead, which we won’t spoil here. The tension ratchets up to the point that if you’re thinking “Where is this going?” in the first 40 minutes, it Becomes “I Can Barely Stand the suspens” in the last act. IT’S INCREDIBLY Compelling, and Made All the More Immersive by the Inky Natural Lighting of A Key Skene at the End. “Between Dreams and Hope” Ultimately ends with one of the Memmorable Final Shots in Some Time. In every way, this is a huge step up for Hamadi from Debut Feature, 2020’s “180-Degree Rule.” With this Second Film, she’s arived as a major filmmaker.
For Western Viewers, It’ll Hopphully Have the Added Dimension of Generating More Empathy for Iranians and Living in that Country. There is not nothing that is could shame Iran or its government. The Urban Vs. rural, liberal vs. Conservative Dynamic We see unfold in “Between Dreams and Hope” is much the same as in the us is a film that should us all more sensitive, more attuned, more questioning of our biases. The fact that it is like a riveting experience makes it all the most powerful in that regard.
Grade: a-
“Between Dreams and Hope” Premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. It is currently seeking us distribution.
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