RĀZ

STORY

On the eve of a wedding in an Iranian-American family, tragedy hits. The emotional toil of repression and guilt coalesces as secrets are created and kept. What unfolds is an aperture into greater tragedy—children so disconnected from their mother, that they ultimately miss what they’ve been protecting her from all along.

ARTISTIC APPROACH

The smell of ghormeh-sabzi wafts from the kitchen as funeral lilies linger awkwardly after a wedding dress fitting. Vivid tableaus and tightly framed mise-en-scène capture the private space of the Iranian-American home. RĀZ is an exploration of the universality of immigration and its after effects.

Evolving almost like a mystery, with an undercurrent of tragedy, two siblings carry a dark secret as micro-incidents build a feeling of dread. Can the shotgun wedding and house contain all the lies and pressure boiling? Through the film’s visual language and poetry, we feel the collective and inherited pain of a diaspora unconsciously echoing.

RĀZ, inspired by true events, explores the Iranian-American experience with brutal honesty, bringing the audience into each moment with visceral and emotional realism.

WHY NOW

Without addressing religion or politics, RĀZ looks at the material, personal and domestic realities that come as a result of the mixture of strong cultural ties and grand historical political events, but on a personal level. How a family is flung across the world, how a mother dreads bad news, how a family tries to protect their elders, how a younger generation tries to uphold and share their culture, how generational traumas are passed down.

Very little is seen of the Iranian immigrant experience in America. When considering male actors for our cast, we were disheartened to see every actor predominantly cast as a terrorist, reinforcing inaccurate and harmful stereotypes. These caricature depictions are demoralizing, encourage racist policy and must end. Humanizing authentic Middle Eastern lives for a wider audience is an urgent calling that is timely and important.

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about the film
about the filmmakers
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