© INDIESALES
MOTSTÅNDAREN
OPPONENT
Director—Milad Alami CITY KINOS
Feature, SWE 2023—119min—18+
Swedish/Farsi original version with English subtitles
COMPETITION
A gripping Berlinale drama about an Iranian athlete in an identity crisis.
Iman lives with his wife Maryam and his two daughters in constantly changing refugee shelters. Having fled Iran in fear of persecution, he desperately tries to secure his family‘s stay in their exiled home of Sweden. When Maryam is surprisingly expecting a third child and meetings with the authorities become increasingly hopeless, Iman resumes his old career as a wrestler. Although he has promised his wife to leave it all behind, he hopes to get a special residence permit if he is successful in sports. But Iman‘s return to contact sports with other men has far-reaching consequences and soon confronts the family with the deeper reasons for their escape.
Director Milad Alami‘s second feature film paints an equally emotional and physical examination of the unspoken. A precisely captured drama with an outstanding cast that makes visible how complex social dynamics affect the inner workings of a person.