That Afternoon

Roya flees an asylum seekers' centre to avoid being deported. She has the address of Nassim – another Iranian woman who helps refugees in her situation. But when she arrives at Nassim's apartment, only her brother is there. Since he won't let Roya in, she decides to wait for her in the hallway. Soon they start a conversation, thanks to which we'll come to know a great deal about the different perspectives of these two people: she has a youthful, idealistic and optimistic spirit; he is embittered and guarded, carrying a heavy burden. Nafiss Nia turns the restriction of the film's premise into a source of poetry and inventiveness – making the most of the delicate cinematography, framing and editing. Die middag cleverly plays with two different regimes of vision central to the plot's development: through the security camera and peephole, Roya is always visible to the man inside the apartment; but we are the only witnesses of what he is doing indoors. This is a film about walls and boundaries (physical and emotional), culture and language, and the politics of intimacy and salvation. (International Film Festival Rotterdam)