Iranian artist and filmmaker Shahab Fotouhi has unveiled an exclusive clip (below) for his film “Boomerang” following its world premiere at Venice Days, an independent program accompanying the Venice Film Festival.

In his tender drama set in Tehran, old relationships break up – like Sima’s marriage to Behzad – and new ones begin, sometimes by accident.

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As Sima begins to search for a new home for herself and her daughter Minoo, her future ex meets with his former love. He is also looking for a rare species of owl that lives somewhere outside the city. But teenage Minoo is also busy: she meets a boy.

“Minoo and Keyvan first make eye contact at a traffic light and quickly bond without exchanging a single word. As they walk through the city and flirt, ‘Boomerang’ conveys a sense of lightness and fluidity reminiscent of the French New Wave,” the director said.

“Behzad’s interactions with other adults are more fragmented and calculated, but still suffused with sweetness, humor, and hilarity. Even his intense conversation with Sima in the dark ends on a lighter note, leaving them tasting like quince jam.”

Produced by Luise Hauschild and Mariam Shatberashvili for New Matter Films and co-produced by Rainy Pictures and Zohal Films, “Boomerang” – distributed by Cercamon – puts emotion at the forefront.

“And also the way of thinking and arguing, the tones, gestures and postures of the characters. Like me, they belong to the middle class, (a part of society) that Iranian cinema has often ignored,” Fotouhi explained.

“Sometimes Iranian cinema adopts a form of realism that tries to represent the lower classes, claiming ‘social responsibility’. I have a problem with making films about something. It suggests that something can be microscopically analyzed and studied. This hierarchical approach is the exact opposite of what this kind of realism aims to achieve.”

Instead, he took more liberties, including with a cast that includes Arash Naimian, Yas Farkhondeh, Leili Rashidi, Ali Hanafian and Shaghayegh Jodat. But whenever Iran is mentioned, there’s no escaping the politics.

“Every work of art has its own politics, although they are not always overt or explicit. Politics affect even the most private and intimate aspects of our lives. The personal is political,” Fotouhi noted, making his feature film debut. Still, despite everything thrown at them, despite their disappointments, his characters “gradually find their own voices.”

“It was only towards the end of writing the script that I realised that Behzad initiates but does not finish conversations with any of the female characters in the film. She plays a supporting role, not the main one, which probably reflects the current socio-political conditions in Iran and the important role that women play in them,” he said, referring to the film’s “sandwich scene”.

“It was inspired by a similar piece from Kiarostami’s ‘The Report,’” he said.

“We meet a group of men from a different social class than the main characters in the film. They talk about the state of the economy, the dilemma of whether to leave the country or stay, blaming each other for their misfortunes. The relationships between these strangers in the sandwich shop add a different flavor to the film.”

Despite everything, these discussions lead nowhere.

“Only the arrival of young girls heralds the beginning of a new era.”

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