May 18, 2019, 3:51 a.m.

Pelan #34: Overruled


Image Description
  • Director: Farnaz Jurabchian
  • Screening: May 24, 2019, 7 p.m.
  • /
  • SFU Harbour Centre - Room 2270
  • Run time: 58

Over one million Afghans live as refugees in neighboring Iran. For Ismael, Golagha, Kashmir and Nader, the flawed Iranian asylum laws leave them in legal limbo and under constant threat of deportation. To eke out a living, they work as ball boys in Tehran's upper-class tennis clubs. With observational skill and heartfelt sensitivity, the film shares the reality of their struggles.

Golagha and his friends dream of winning a tennis tournament for the substantial prize money. Ismael, the charismatic Bruce Lee look-alike, has the talent to do it but legal barriers and unkind officials pose impossible obstacles. As another way out, the friends seriously ponder the life-threatening journey to an unknown fate in the West. Given the contemporary flood of images of refugees arriving on the shores of Europe, Overruled deals with an important and often overlooked part of the bigger picture, examining refugee struggles in Asia.

About filmmakers:

Born in Tehran, Iran, Farnaz Jurabchian received her BFA in Cinema from The Melhoppenheim School of Cinema, Concordia University in Montreal and MohammadReza Jurabchian received his BFA in photography from University of Art and Architecture in Tehran. Together the brother and sister collaborate in several short and documentary films which have been selected for a number of international film festivals worldwide.



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