La Sirène (The Siren)
Sepideh Farsi, 2023, 100 min. In Persian with English subtitles
Screening followed by a Q&A with Director Sepideh Farsi and Aubrey Gabel

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1980. Southern Iran. The people of Abadan have been fighting an Iraqi siege. Amongst them is the 14-year-old Omid, who chose to stay in the city with his grandfather, waiting for his elder brother to return from the frontline. But how can you resist in a war without taking up arms?

Then Omid finds an abandoned ship in Abadan’s harbor. Is this the answer to saving the people he loves?

Trailer here

Sepideh Farsi is a Franco-Iranian film director known for her poignant exploration of identity and exile. Born in Iran, she left the country in 1984 to study mathematics in Paris but soon shifted her focus to the visual arts, beginning with photography before transitioning to filmmaking. Farsi’s films, celebrated for their bold storytelling, have consistently challenged the Iranian regime. Since 2009, she has been unable to return to Iran due to her activism and the critical nature of her work. All of her films remain banned in the country. In February 2023, her first animated feature, The Siren (La Sirène), premiered as the opening film of the Panorama section at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival. The film later won Best Animated Film at the 16th Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Gold Coast, Australia, in November 2023.

Aubrey Gabel is Assistant Professor of French at Columbia University.

Produced by Maison Française and co-sponsored by the MESAAS and Middle East Institute at Columbia University.