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My Tehran for Sale

My Tehran for Sale ( Persian: تهران من، حراج), is a 2009 Australian-Iranian feature film written and directed by poet turned filmmaker Granaz Moussavi. It was produced by Cyanfilms and stars Marzieh Vafamehr, Amir Chegini, and Asha Mehrabi.

Officially selected by the Toronto International Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Pusan and several others, the film explores the contemporary Tehran and its underground art scene, focusing on the life of a young actress who has been banned from theater work. Struggling to pursue her passion in art as well as her secret lifestyle in a socially oppressed environment, Marzieh gets involved in some subsequent and unexpected events leading her to a dilemma regarding her survival and identity. My Tehran for Sale has been compared with Cristian Mungiu's film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days by Parviz Jahed, an Iranian critic and film scholar. ^[1]

My Tehran For Sale is also the winner of Independent Spirit Inside Film Awards 2009. ^[2] It won the jury award for best feature Film at the TriMedia Film Festival in 2010. ^[3]

Marzieh is a young female actress living in Tehran. The authorities have banned her, like many other young actors, from doing theater work, forcing her to lead a secret life in order to express herself artistically. At an underground rave, she meets Saman, who was born in Iran but has become an Australian citizen. Saman offers her a way out of Iran and shows Marzieh the possibility of living without fear. ^[4]

The film has been an official selection to Toronto International Film Festival (Sep 2009), ^[5] Vancouver International Film Festival (Sep-Oct 2009), Busan International Film Festival (Oct 2009), International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg (Nov 2009), Museum of Modern Art (New York, Jan 2010), International Film Festival Rotterdam (Jan 2010), International Film Festival Prague - Febiofest, 2010 Cinema Novo Film Festival Brugges 2010, CPH:PIX Copenhagen International Film Festival 2010, Guadalajara International Film Festival Mexico, Sydney Travelling Film Festival, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival, Human Rights Arts and Film Festival 2010, Focus on Asia Fukuoka International Film Festival 2010, Global Lens USA 2010, Dialogue of Cultures Film Festival New York 2011 and SVAW Film Festival Melbourne 2011, ^[6] etc.

Controversy surrounded the film when unauthorized copies of the film were circulated in Tehran. In July 2011, Iranian authorities arrested Vafamehr, reportedly for acting in the film without proper Islamic hijab and with a shaved head. She was sentenced to one year in prison and 90 lashes, however due to international pressure and various campaigns, an appeals court later reduced her sentence to only three months imprisonment. She was released in October 2011. ^[7]