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(c) Pieter-Jan De Pue

‘Women constitute the majority of suicides in Iran – where in the West there is a higher number of male suicides. It mainly concerns young women, more often married than single...’  Ann De Craemer

The documentary Safar (Journey) by Talheh Daryanavard pictures a train journey of three girlfriends from Teheran to their hometown in the Persian Gulf. The girlfriends Amina, Fatoma and Asma are born and raised on small, secluded isles in the Persian Gulf, in the outer regions of southern Iran. They have successfully finished their studies at the University of Teheran and are travelling back to their hometown by train. Safar makes the viewer a participant of their train compartment’s intimacy. This documentary shows not only the landscape sliding by, but also the lives of these three young women.

Journalist Ann De Craemer and photographer Pieter-Jan de Pue made the same train trip from Teheran to the Persian Gulf, which resulted in the book Duizend-en-één dromen. Een reis langs de Trans-Iraanse Spoorlijn (Thousand-and-one-dreams. A journey along the Trans-Iranian railway). Dirk Verhofstadt wrote in De Morgen: ‘This book is more than a road book. It is at the same time a historical snapshot, an exciting thriller, an adequate history book, an essential travel guide and a piece of poetry about a country and a people rich in tradition and, undoubtedly, with a great future ahead of them. An extraordinarily fascinating book, with striking photographs by Pieter-Jan De Pue.

Women in Iran  

After the viewing of Safar, Ann De Craemer, Pieter-Jan De Pue and Talheh Daryanavard will talk about daily life in Iran and the position of women. Women in Iran are frequently viewed as victims, but Ann De Craemer states that it is important to emphasise the fact that they are the biggest champions of change.

The evening will be concluded with a performance by the Iranian-Belgian Haleh. Zone 02 wrote the following about her: “It has become an irresistible combination, the delicate beauty of the frail voice of the young Iranian singer Haleh Nasiri and the frivolous beats and the electronic sounds of tech-wizard, producer and musician Mark Van Eyck (Largo, Sharko, Studio Pagol). Oriental melodies and smooth electronics.’

Annelies Beck moderates the evening.

IN DUTCH AND ENGLISH

In collaboration with het Rits Café and Cinema Rits