An eye opening and deeply personal look at repression and struggling to follow one’s dreams, Leila Amini’s touching and genuinely inspirational documentary A Sisters’ Tale offers insight into what it’s like being a motivated woman in modern day Iran.
Filmed over the course of several years – beginning in 2016 – Leila documents the life of her sister, Nasreen, an unhappily married mother of two secretly pursuing her dream of becoming a singer. Not only do her marital duties towards her uncaring, aloof husband, Mohamad, put a strain on Nasreen’s desires, but women have been prohibited by law from performing or recording publicly since the revolution of 1979.
A Sisters’ Tale is built on raw, intimate, and frequently intense familial conversations, packed with heartbreaking admissions and frustrations. Nasreen’s songs are deeply personal, mournful, and filled with worries about the future, and a point that Leila keeps coming back to is the question of how a mother can tell her children to follow their dreams and hearts when she can’t do the same. Add to this a latent ache in the sisters’ hearts from the recent passing of their vastly more supportive and progressive father, and the film takes on an extra layer of poignancy.
The more independence Nasreen appears to gain – practicing and recording in secret – the harder things get on her marriage and personal image, but that also makes the personal and professional victories along the way that much sweeter. A Sisters’ Tale is a love letter to one’s sister, but also a deep dive into an aspect of Iranian culture that holds people back rather than allowing them to flourish. It’s restrained in style, but emotionally enriching.
Tuesday, September 10, 2024 – Scotiabank Theatre 10 – 6:15 pm
Wednesday, September 11, 2024 – Scotiabank Theatre 11 – 7:35 pm
Sunday, September 15, 2024 – Scotiabank Theatre 6 – 12:00 pm
