| No Land's Song | |
| Director: | Ayat Najafi |
| Producer: | Anne Grange Gunter Hanfgarn Rouven Rech Teresa Renn |
| Starring: | Sara Najafi Parvin Namazi Sayeh Sodeyfi Elise Caron Jeanne Cherhal Emel Mathlouthi |
| Runtime: | 91 minutes |
No Land's Song (fa|آواز بیسرزمین / Âvâz-e Bi-Sarzamin) is a 2014 Iranian documentary film written and directed by Ayat Najafi, starring Sara Najafi, Parvin Namazi, Sayeh Sodeyfi, Emel Mathlouthi, Elise Caron, and Jeanne Cherhal.
In the wake of the revolution of 1979, the new regime forbids women in Iran to sing publicly as soloists in front of men.
In defiance of censorship and cultural, religious and legal taboos, a young composer named Sara Najafi decides to organize a concert for female solo singers.
Najafi starts to enlist others. She recruits two other Iranian singers Parvin Namazi and Sayeh Sodeyfi to join her. In turn, Namazi and Sodeyfi invite three female singers from Paris: Elise Caron, Jeanne Cherhal and Emel Mathlouthi. Their stated intention is to perform together as solo artists in a show to be held in Tehran. As the Iranian film festival states, this musical collaboration is said to reopen a "musical bridge" uniting France and Iran.
The documentary poses the question whether women will ever be successful in singing free, together, side by side, in front of a mixed audience, without restrictions or interference. Success in their immediate quest makes for a compelling drama. On the other hand, the long-term effect is more questionable.[1] [2]
It is said that the movie is an antidote to the misogynist excesses of the government. "The female voice is fading away", Najafi claims.[2]
No Land's Song has received widespread praise. Some of the reviews:
The film has been widely aired at more than a dozen film festivals, and has been well-received, and was nominated for and garnered many awards.
| International Film Festival | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Festival | Award | Winner | Result | |||||||
| 2014 | Montreal World Film Festival[7] [8] | Best documentary | Ayat Najafi | ||||||||
| Noor Iranian Film Festival[9] | Best documentary director | Ayat Najafi | |||||||||
| Dok Leipzig | Young Jury Award | Ayat Najafi | |||||||||
| Gijón International Film Festival | Docufix Best Documentary | Ayat Najafi | |||||||||
| 2015 | Middle East Now festival[10] | Audience Award | Ayat Najafi | ||||||||
| International Film Festival of Human Rights in Paris | Special Jury Fleury Merogis | Ayat Najafi | |||||||||
| Achtung Berlin[11] | Special Mention Prize Exterminate | Ayat Najafi | |||||||||
| Kraków Film Festival[12] | Mention spéciale du Jury DocFilmMusic | Ayat Najafi | |||||||||
| Human Rights Watch Film Festival | Nestor Almendros Price | Ayat Najafi | |||||||||
| Unabhängiges Filmfest-Osnabrück | Peace Film Award | Ayat Najafi | |||||||||
| Verzio International Human Rights Film Festival | Audience Award | Ayat Najafi | |||||||||
| International Folk Music Film Festival – Kathmandu | Best Longer Film Award | Ayat Najafi | |||||||||
| Bir duino International Documentary Film[13] | Best Film on Women's Rights | Ayat Najafi | |||||||||