Presented as part of Bijou Film Forum, a series of screenings and discussions of acclaimed and provocative films that seek to engage community members and U. of Iowa students across all disciplines and fields of study through the art of film.
Free admission for UI students and $6 for general public.

DIALOGUE: Post-screening panel discussion to follow.

STARLESS DREAMS

"Roger Ebert once called the movies 'a machine that generates empathy,' and Starless Dreams ... is just such a machine. With the conceptual rigor and emotional directness associated with the best of Iranian cinema Oskouei simply listens to the stories of those who have never been listened to before." - Variety

A haunting portrait of stolen childhood, Starless Dreams plunges us into the lives of seven young teenage girls sharing temporary quarters at a rehabilitation and correction center on the outskirts of Tehran. As the New Year approaches, the girls bond and reveal with disarming and often playful honesty the circumstances and acts that resulted in their incarceration. One girl killed her father; another robbed a bank; still another was arrested for carrying 651 grams of cocaine. But the girls' sisterly bond brings them to sing and dance with hope and allows them to share their tears. Outside the prison walls, danger is everywhere, even within their own families.