The Day I Became a Woman
| The Day I Became a Woman | |
|---|---|
Movie poster
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| Directed by | Marzieh Meshkini |
| Produced by | Mohsen Makhmalbaf |
| Written by | Mohsen Makhmalbaf Marzieh Meshkini |
| Music by | Ahmad Reza Darvish |
| Cinematography |
Mohamad Ahmadi Ebrahim Ghafori |
| Edited by |
Maysam Makhmalbaf Shahrzad Pouya |
| Distributed by | Olive Films (U.S.) |
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Release date
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September 1, 2000 |
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Running time
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78 mins. |
| Country | Iran |
| Language | Persian |
| Budget | $180,000 (estimated) |
| Box office | $344,235 (USA sub-total) |
The Day I Became a Woman (Persian: Roozi ke zan shodam, روزی که زن شدم) is a 2000 award-winning Iranian drama film directed by Marzieh Meshkini. It tells three stories, each depicting a different stage in the lives of Iranian women. It premièred at the 2000 Venice Film Festival and won several festival awards during 2000. Critical response was positive with some calling it "Felliniesque".
The film tells three different stories about women struggling for identity in Iran. Hava is a young girl who, on her ninth birthday, is told by her mother and grandmother that she has become a woman with particular responsibilities. She may no longer play with her best friend, a boy, and must wear a chador when outside the home. Hava is given the choice when to start taking on those responsibilities—noon that day. A stick pushed into the ground will mark time as the shadow at noon will align with the stick.
Ahoo is a married woman who is taking part in a cycling race. Ahead of the rest, Ahoo is pursued by her husband on horseback. He tries to persuade her to stop cycling and come home, and then threatens her with divorce. When Ahoo defiantly continues cycling, her husband brings a mullah who divorces them. Later, tribal superiors and male family members come to stop Ahoo as she tries to escape the social constraints of being a woman.
Hoora is an elderly widow who has recently inherited a great deal of money. She decides to buy all of the material possessions she has ever wanted, but could not have while she was married. She ties strings to her fingers to remind her what to buy, and hires several young boys to help her. They take her and her new belongings to the beach. As she floats out to a waiting ship, seemingly free from the bonds of womanhood, she is watched by two of the young women from the bicycle race, and Hava, now wearing her chador.
The film was co-written by director Marzieh Meshkini, from a script by her husband Mohsen Makhmalbaf. It was shot on Kish Island in the Hormozgān Province in southern Iran. Makhmalbaf was on the island at the same time, shooting Testing Democracy. Some commentators have suggested that Makhmalbaf was the real director of The Day I Became a Woman (as well as the films of his daughters). Critic Jonathan Rosenbaum has argued against these claims. Meshkini has said that as a female filmmaker, she found making a film in Iran particularly difficult, having to prove her abilities to the cast and crew before being accepted by them.
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