Information and additional media about ‘1 hour – 99 years (2009)’.

About

For most young Iranians, Tehran is a frustrating place to live. The press is censored, boys and girls are often separated and everything that has to do with sex is taboo.

With sixty percent of the population under the age of thirty, authorities are getting more aware of the problems young people face. Sighe, a temporary marriage for between 1 hour and 99 years, could be a way to release some of the frustrations and give young people some room in this country where extra-marital sex remains out of the question.. Even though some influential people try to promote temporary marriages, the issue has triggered heated debates, as many see it as legalized prostitution.

In 1 hour – 99 years we follow two young people who have entered into a temporary marriage. Both Sahab and Maryam are surprisingly open and honest about the topic and show us the pros and cons. A heated discussion between Sahab and his mother illustrates there are very different views on the issue, even within one family. While Sahab believes Sighe is a good opportunity for young people, his mother finds it a hypocritical and unacceptable practice. Maryam, a divorced woman with a young son, shows that doing a temporary marriage is sometimes the only way to stay off the street in this country where there is hardly any social support system.

We meet a popular Mullah in the Southern suburbs of Tehran who legalizes temporary marriages, and a matchmaker in Iran’s religious centre Qom. 1 hour – 99 years gives an intriguing insight into the lives of people in this young, frustrated and confused society and the way old religious practices like Sighe are being used in an attempt to solve contemporary problems.

Stills

Credits

Year: 2009
 Running time: 49 minutes
 Language: Farsi

Directed by: Negin Kianfar & Daisy Mohr
 Editor: Ewoud Hendriksen   
Camera/Sound: Mahmoud Hamedi   
Color correction: Arnoud Kwant
 Producer: Gijs van de Westelaken, Column Film   
Co-producer: Margje de Koning, Ikon

Zie ook:

Geen verwante berichten