TEHRAN – Picture Tree International (PTI), a Berlin-based world sales company, has acquired rights for Iranian director Arian Vazirdaftari’s drama “Without Her”.

The company is scheduled to offer the film during the upcoming European Film Market at its Marriot Hotel in Berlin, Variety announced on Monday.

Just two weeks before emigrating from Iran to Denmark, Roya encounters a quiet young girl who appears lost and doesn’t remember anything. She takes her in, providing her with a home and introducing her to her husband, family and friends, all the while blissfully unaware that this girl has come to replace her.

The storyline of a woman losing her identity dives into the genre tradition of Hitchcock, Polanski and De Palma, while connecting it with the tradition of social realism in Iranian cinema, Picture Tree Intl. said in a statement.

“Someone actually losing her identity may seem surreal at first glance, but I guess coming from a background where you’re usually blamed for who you are, it’s as vivid and realistic as it can get, especially if the society is determined to define you in its own preferred way,” Vazirdaftari has said in his recent comments.

“Our main protagonist Roya learns a simple, tragic lesson: either you alter yourself and adapt or you will be eliminated and replaced by those who do,” he added.

Vazirdaftari’s most recent short film “Like a Good Kid” premiered in the Cinéfondation competition at the 70th Cannes Film Festival in 2018. He was a participant at the Berlinale Script Station in 2021.

Starring Tannaz Tabatabai, Saber Abar and Shadi Karamrudi, the film is competing at the 40th Fajr Film Festival, which is currently underway in Tehran.

Photo: Shadi Karamrudi and Tannaz Tabatabai act in a scene from “Without Her” directed by Arian Vazirdaftari.

MMS/YAW