SYNOPSIS

I Am Nasrine is an intimate journey of self-discovery and the unfolding of a soul.

The film follows the paths of Nasrine and Ali, sister and brother in a comfortable, middle-class Iranian home. When Nasrine has a run-in with the police, the punishment is more than she bargained for: their father orders them both to relocate to the UK. Ali is furious…and yet, for Nasrine, there is undeniable excitement about the prospect of starting a new life in the West, and an eagerness for its promise of new freedoms.

Arriving in Britain, their fate and their future are far from certain. Nasrine is quick to settle into her new life, making friends with Nichole, a member of the Gypsy traveller community. However, Ali struggles with the realities of life in the UK, as well as his awakening sexuality. Then comes 9/11, and a surge of prejudice and hostility from her adopted community.

As Nasrine finds the courage to accept her fate, she discovers that the end of her journey is really just the beginning.

REVIEWS

“I Am Nasrine is a tender and affecting coming of age movie. Tina Gharavi is one to watch out for. Heartening and uplifting to come across an Iranian woman filmmaker with Gharavi’s magical yet methodical talent."
Jackie Kay, Poet & Novelist

"We are all much more thoughtful and potentially better people for the insights this film gives – it is for each of us to learn from or ignore the messages, so powerful if we can experience the former.”

Keith Best, Chief Executive, Freedom from Torture

“This low budget British feature, set in both Iran and Newcastle, is an impressively earnest tale of cultural differences and coming of age that has a faint tinge of some of the work of Ken Loach. This is a strong UK feature made on a shoestring... Young actress Micsha Sadeghi gives a strong performance as a young girl struggling with her identity and is ably supported by Shiraz Haq as her stoic yet confused brother. Gharavi films in a loose, naturalistic style that mostly works in giving the film an intimate and emotional feel.”

I Am Nasrine review, Screen International.

"I finally watched I Am Nasrine. It made me cry. It is a film that captures the beauty of human interactions - tentative and curious - and is full of ideas about how to frame and tell a story [...] It is profoundly relevant and puts to shame many portrayals of Iranian people."

Mark Cousins, Film Historian & Critic