Paradise (Ma Dar Behisht)
by Birgit Schrumpf

Director: Sina Ataeian Dena – Iran,  Germany

Hanieh is torn  between her private and professional life. The young teacher lives with her  sister's family in a liberal district of Teheran commuting to the outskirts of  town where she has found work in a girls' school. She is caught in an  atmosphere of military discipline with schoolchildren lining up for roll call  every morning singing praise to Allah on the top of their voices. Playing ball  games on the school grounds is forbidden according to the restrictive  interpretation of the religious law. It is not only the wearing of the hijab  that is depressive for her but also the cool and violent behavior of the strict  school mistress with a face like an unmoving mask. Added to the constant  feeling of violence is the mysterious disappearance of two school girls. Nobody  knows what has happened to them.

Sadly, Hanieh's only highlight of the day is a secret drag on her cigarette whilst  sitting on the toilet seat. Even the short phone calls to her boyfriend seem  gloomy. Her application for transfer to another school gets shifted from one  desk to the next, a torture with little hope of success. It is no wonder that  there are long scenes when we see Hanieh staring out of the window or riding  home on the bus with a sullen look on her face. She seems to be sleepwalking  through her days.

For the producers Yusuf Panahi and Amir Hamz the film  represents a collaboration of upcoming young Iranian artists wanting to give a  true and almost documentary look into the daily life of women, showing a part  of today's Iran. Paradise was made under difficult circumstances without official approval. This was the closing film at the Filmfest Hamburg after the  premiere at the Locarno Film Festival, Switzerland, in August 2015.