I’m Taraneh, 15

Sadr-Ameli’s previous film, The Girl in the Sneakers that won prizes at many festivals, was about the attempts by a rebellious Iranian girl to flee with the boy she loved, despite opposition from her surroundings. Now for the second time, Rassul Sadr Ameli focuses on the struggle of a young woman against dominant norms and values.Like so many girls of her age, Taraneh lives her life by the norms of Iranian society. She studies, works and is engaged to an older kid she soon hopes to marry. However this Amir Hossein turns out to be unreliable. He suddenly leaves for Germany and leaves Taraneh behind, pregnant. She is living with her grandmother, but when she dies, and Amir’s mother denies he is the father of Taraneh’s unborn child, Taraneh’s world falls apart. Despite the difficult situation she is in, she is determined to keep the child.The director of this sensitive portrait states that the inventiveness or attraction of a film is more closely linked to the film maker’s interpretation of the subject than any dramatic turns in the script. He consciously chose a sober design that comes second to the subtle acting of Taraneh Alidousti, who rightly won the prize for best actress at the Locarno festival with it.