Iranian short ‘Birthday’ to compete at Germany’s 49th Weiterstadt Film Festival
Iranian filmmaker Raheleh Karami’s short film ‘Birthday’ was officially selected to compete at the 49th Weiterstadt Open Air Film Festival, to be held in Hesse, Germany, from August 14 to 18.
The five-day festival, one of Germany’s longest-running open-air cinema events, will screen Karami’s film alongside selected titles from around the world, ILNA reported.
This year’s edition saw nearly 4,000 submissions, with Birthday making the final cut thanks to its originality and storytelling style that sidesteps conventional cinematic boundaries. The event is known for its strong emphasis on “diversity” and “authenticity,” drawing crowds for its mix of avant-garde and cross-genre shorts.
Written and directed by Karami and produced by Hojjat Babaei, ‘Birthday’ completes a thematic trilogy by the filmmaker focused on women’s experiences. It follows her earlier shorts ‘The Doll’ and ‘The Good Girl,’ both of which explored gender dynamics in modern Iranian society.
In ‘Birthday,’ the narrative centers on a young girl’s emotional expectations on her birthday. “Today is my birthday, mom. It’s supposed to be the best day of my life…” reads the official synopsis.
Actresses Shaghayegh Faryadshiran and Mahana Ekhlas lead the cast in the short, which marks Karami’s third directorial work.
Separately, Karami’s latest film ‘The House’ was recently selected for the 38th edition of the Les Instants Vidéo numériques et poétiques festival in Marseille, France, continuing the director’s growing presence in the European short film circuit.