In A Sisters’ Tale, seven years in the making, director Leila Amini films her sister Nasreen in Tehran as she pursues her dreams of becoming a singer in a country where women are banned from performing in public.
In A Sisters’ Tale, seven years in the making, director Leila Amini creates a stunning portrait of her sister Nasreen. We watch Nasreen pursue her dream of becoming a singer in Iran, a country where women are banned from performing in public. Nasreen has starlike charisma and gives Leila access to all her highs and lows. We see her striving to fulfill her artistic ambitions while navigating the needs of her two children, her marital tensions, and patriarchal pushback at every turn. Nasreen frequently clashes with her husband over her music and his nighttime absences.
“I want to talk to women with my lyrics,” says Nasreen. She writes songs of love and freedom, stealing moments from a boisterous household to sequester herself in a room and record tracks on her phone. Over the years, we see her assert more independence both as a woman and an artist. A Sisters’ Tale is the story of two women with great tenacity, both in front of the camera and behind it. The film has a rawness and intimacy that perhaps only a sibling could capture.
When Nasreen sings, her voice radiates beauty, power, and poetry that reshapes the world in her own vision. The film showcases a splendid inner life shining bright against an embattled outer world.
THOM POWERS
Screenings
Scotiabank 7
Scotiabank 10
Scotiabank 11
Scotiabank 6