Golshifteh Farahani Returns to ADFF with My Sweet Pepper Land After Her Brilliant Role in The Patience Stone
My Sweet Pepper Land by Hiner SaleemSpecial Jury Award/ Narrative Feature Comprtitin- In My Sweet Pepper Land Hiner Saleem takes us on a journey that starts with the end of the Iraqi regime. In it, the director tells us the story of Baran, a veteran resistance fighter with an interest in Western music who refuses to work as a policeman. Consequently, he resigns from his post and returns to his mother’s village so that she can find him a wife. Feeling restless about his new life as a civilian, he decides to accept a job as the head of a police station in the remote, picturesque village of Quamrian, an almost hidden place at the Iraqi, Iranian and Turkish borders. It’s here where he meets a beautiful, opinionated schoolteacher named Govend, portrayed by the stunning Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani.
As the story develops, Baran (Korkmaz Arslan) learns that the village and its outskirts are run by a malicious chieftain named Aga Aziz and his band of ruffians. Aga Aziz runs a smuggling ring and hinders the resistance efforts of other Kurd fighters from the nearby region. However, Baran is not the only one facing problems.We see Govend facing all sorts of difficulties in performing her job as the village schoolteacher. Not only is she is a woman, she is also unmarried, shadowed wherever she goes by her 12 conservative brothers, who want her to return to her home town and marry a man she doesn’t love. Brought closer together by their struggles, Baran and Govend fall in love, complicating things even further.
What is most striking about My Sweet Pepper Land is the director’s ability to brilliantly mix elements of drama, romance and hints of comedy, making this film a wonderfully balanced story. We leave the theatre with a sense of satisfaction knowing that the hero wins his fight and love conquers all.
Karolina Abbas