| Director: | Shirin Neshat, Shoja Azari |
|---|---|
| Production: | Bon Voyage Films (Hamz, Christian Springer, Fahri Yardim), Palodeon Pictures (Sol Tryon), Land of Dreams, Bayerischer Rundfunk & Arte, Fondazione In Between Art Film, Doha Film Institute |
| Running Time: | 113’ |
| Language: | English, Farsi, Spanish |
| Country: | USA, Germany, Qatar |
| Main Cast: | Sheila Vand, Matt Dillon, William Moseley, Isabella Rossellini, Christopher McDonald, Anna Gunn, Joaquin de Almeida, Robin Bartlett, Gaius Charles, Nicole Ansari-Cox, Mohammad B. Ghaffari |
| Screenplay: | Shirin Neshat, Jean-Claude Carrière, Shoja Azari |
| Cinematographer: | Ghasem Ebrahimian |
| Editor: | Mike Selemon |
| Production Designer: | Rick Gilbert |
| Costume Designer: | Negar Ali-Kline |
| Music: | Michael Brook |
| Sound: | Eli Cohn, Scott Hirsch, Craig Parker, Stefan Chakerian |
| Visual Effects: | Dara Hamidi |
Cinema
Land of Dreams
Orizzonti Extra
Synopsis
Simin is an Iranian woman on a journey to discover what it means to be a free American. She works for the Census Bureau which, in an effort to control its citizens, has begun a program to record their dreams. Unaware of this devious plot, Simin is torn between her compassion for those whose dreams she is recording and a truth she must find within. Haunted by the fact that her father was executed by the Islamic regime in Iran, Simin has developed a coping mechanism through a world of fantasy and playacting. She captures her interviewees’ dreams, secretly impersonates them in Farsi and publishes them on social media where she finds a growing Iranian audience.
Soon Simin meets Mark; a drifter, a free soul, and a poet who declares his love for her at first sight; and Alan, a cynical cowboy turned detective, full of machismo and the American spirit of adventure. As Simin enters the triad, she finds the two men’s competition and conflicts amusing and silently enjoys the ride.
Playful and poignant, Land of Dreams acknowledges in a surreal and satirical way, the greatness of the American experiment while offering a warning beacon for what could come.
Directors’ Statement
Land of Dreams developed out of a collaboration with Jean-Claude Carrière, a journey that began back in 2018 in Paris until his death in January 2021.
The film was inspired by our personal journeys as two Iranian immigrants living in America since the 1970s, and Jean-Claude’s grasp of the American culture as a French citizen. The narrative is therefore, an expression of our sensibilities and point of views as three foreigners about a country that we all love and yet dare to criticise.
Stylistically the film has become a convergence of a deeply personal, visual and conceptual language with Jean-Claude Carrière’s legendary signature as a scriptwriter with his sense of wit, humour and humanity.
Producers/Distributors
PRODUCTION 1: Amir Hamz, Christian Springer, Fahri Yardim - Bon Voyage Films GmbH
Ringstraße 19
22145 – Hamburg, Germany
Tel. +49 (0)3025095944
hello@bonvoyage.film
http://www.bonvoyage.film
PRODUCTION2: Sol Tryon - Palodeon Pictures
391 E. Villanova Rd
CA 93923 - Ojai, United States of America
Tel. +1 917 470 7981
creator@palodeon.com
PRODUCTION3: Land of Dreams LLC
Brooklyn, NY USA creator@palodeon.com
OTHER COPRODUCTIONS: Bayerischer Rundfunk & Arte, Fondazione In Between Art Film, Doha Film Institute.
WORLD SALES: Thorsten Ritter – Beta Cinema GmbH
Gruenwalder Weg 28d
82041 – Oberhaching / Munich, Germany
Tel. +49 89673469828
beta@betacinema.com
http://www.betacinema.com
PRESS OFFICE: Manlin Sterner - International Rescue PR
Tel: +46 76 376 9933
manlin@manlin.se
PRESS OFFICE 2: Dorothee Stoewahse – Beta Film GmbH
Gruenwalder Weg 28d
82041 – Oberhaching / Munich, Germany
Tel. +49 89 67346915
Mob. +49 170 6384627
press@betafilm.com
