Empty Nets
Guests Expected
Director Behrooz Karamizade is expected to attend
Description
What begins as a pursuit of love becomes a dangerous journey into the seedy underbelly of Iran’s fisheries in director Behrooz Karamizade’s heart-wrenching neorealist debut. Deeply enamored with each other, Amir and Narges want to marry but Narges’s upper-class parents disapprove of the union. Amir is determined to prove himself worthy by earning a quick fortune for her dowry—a challenge in Iran’s difficult employment market. A talented swimmer, he earns a spot in a fishing operation, where he learns there is big money to be made in the perilous work of poaching and human smuggling. Now living far from his beloved, will Amir’s relationship with Narges survive the separation? Ashkan Ashkani’s dreamy cinematography captures the beauty of the Caspian Sea, a contrast to the ugly secrets the water holds, in this striking portrait of romance struggling against Iran’s social realities.
Born in Iran and raised in Germany, Behrooz Karamizade studied film direction at Kunsthochschule Kassel in Kassel, Germany, where he made his short film Bahar in Wonderland (2013), which won over 20 film festival prizes. In addition to working as a director, he is a cameraman and editor. From 2015–2017, he taught at his alma mater.
Film Details
Language Farsi
Original Language Title Toorhaye khali
Year 2023
Premiere California
Runtime 101
Country Germany/Iran
Director Behrooz Karamizade
Producer Eva Kemme, Ansgar Frerich, Uschi Feldges
Writer Behrooz Karamizade
Editor Anne Jünemann
Cinematographer Ashkan Ashkani
Music John Gürtler, Jan Miserre
Cast Hamid Reza Abbasi, Sadaf Asgari, Keyvan Mohamadi, Pantea Panahiha
Closed Captions Closed Captions are not yet confirmed for this program
Audio Description Audio Descriptions are not yet confirmed for this program
American Sign Language (ASL) Interpretation American Sign Language Interpretation is not currently scheduled for this film
