Empty Nets

(Empty Nets / تورهای خالی)

Germany, Iran 2023, 101 min.

Written and Directed by: Behrooz Karamizade
Producer: Eva Kemme, Ansgar Frerich, Uschi Feldges,
Cast: Pantea Panahiha, Saadaf Asgari, Keyvan Mohamadi, Ali Bagheri,…

Synopsis:

Twenty-somethings Amir and Narges have found what feels like true love in their hometown by the coast of the
Caspian sea. But in today’s Iran, that’s far from enough to build a life together, and they are forced to keep the
relationship secret. To win over Narges’ upper-class family and pay an appropriate dowry, Amir needs money, and
he needs it fast. With his back against the wall, Amir finds work at a local fishery, where he is drawn into the
dangerous but lucrative business of black-market caviar smuggling. As Amir’s values are compromised by the illegal
underworld, Narges stalls for time and tries to delay the arranged marriage her parents are planning for her. Can
their love, hopes, and dreams survive the tightly-knit web of tradition, corruption, and social hierarchy that continues
to rule over the lives of a new generation in Iran?

Director’s Bio:

Behrooz Karamizade was born in 1978 in Ahwaz, Iran. In 1984 he immigrated together with his family via the former
Soviet Union through the former GDR to West-Germany. He has lived in Germany since 1985. From 2005 to 2013 he
studied film directing at the Kunsthochschule in Kassel. With his first short films he won several awards and
participated in over 200 international film festivals. Among others at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, the
Short Film Festival Oberhausen and the Montreal World Film Festival. With his graduation film BAHAR IM
WUNDERLAND he participated in over 150 film festivals and won 20 awards, including the German Human Rights
Film Award 2014. In 2016 BAHAR IM WUNDERLAND was broadcast on ARTE. He shot his short films KINDSEIN IM
IRAN and PACKING both in Iran. Karamizade received the Golden Lola 2021 / the German Screenplay Award for his
screenplay EMPTY NETS.

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