Fireworks Wednesday (Chaharshanbe-soori)

Dir: Asghar Farhadi (2006)

 WINNER: BEST FEATURE, CHICAGO INTERTNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2006

WINNER: BEST DIRECTOR, BEST ACTRESS, BEST EDITING, FAJR FILM FESTIVAL 2006

WINNER: BEST DIRECTOR, KERALA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2006

WINNER: SPECIAL JURY AWARD, NANTES THREE CONTINENTS FESTIVAL 2006

It is the Wesdesday before Persian New Year, a day when fireworks are set off across Iran to usher in the celebrations. It is also Rouhi’s first day at a new job, working as a maid at the home of Morteza and his family.

Morteza’s wife suspects her husband is cheating on her and as Rouhi observes the relationships and realities of this young family, she soon finds herself in the midst of a different kind of fireworks - that of a domestic dispute between her new employees.

As with his later films, this is a tense and complex snapshot of everyday Iranian life, as only Farhadi can show it.