Synopsis: Ava (Mahour Jabbari) is a bright and diligent and teenager from a comfortable Tehran home who – like her peers – is concerned with both her academic and social status. However, Ava becomes distracted by a bet she has taken with her friends to win a date with Nima (Houman Hoursan), her violin partner. Ava desires to pursue a career in music but her controlling mother, Bahar (Bahar Noohian), who is a successful doctor, forbids this, whilsther father (Vahid Aghapoor), is willing to entertain the prospect. The divide between her parents manifests in contrasting parental styles and when Bahar learns of Ava’s relationship with Nima, she becomes mistrustful and forces Ava to be checked by a gynaecologist. The incident enrages Ava and sets in motion a series of rebellious acts that irreparably impact her well-being and reputation. Without the support of her mother, Ava grows closer to her gentler father, but she is ultimately alone in her struggles against the constraints of her society.
Directors Statement:
Ava is a women-driven coming-of-age drama which has the cinematographic aesthetic of a country in which there are restrictions on portraying women. The film tells the story of a teenage girl who is banished from all social institutions simply because she wants to be different. My main objective in making Ava was to examine the role and influence of women in this society. In this respect, my point of departure was a mother and daughter in a small society called “home” – mother as a person who gives birth to and nurtures her daughter as the generation that follows her own. Written and directed in the form of a musical variation, Ava pictures the possibilities in a society where external determination has become so overwhelming that the inner-motive forces have lost their weight.
AVA is released online 21st August 2020
