The White Meadows

Moving from salt-encrusted island to salt-encrusted island, a mysterious stranger collects the tears of the heartbroken inhabitants.

Someone has died. Rowing from one isolated island to the next, a mysterious man has been tasked with taking away the dead, however, his main task is to collect the tears of those who remain. From those mourning a terrible loss, to a bride devastated by her upcoming nuptials, each of them willingly let the man collect their tears, but no one quite understands why.

Curator's note

Filmed in and around the stunning Lake Urmia in Iran's north-east, the otherworldly landscape barnacled with salt crystals makes a mysterious backdrop befitting Mohammad Rasoulof's equally beguiling film.

There is much to unpack after viewing The White Meadows. The film's allegory is delivered in such a quiet, poetic manner that it is perhaps surprising that this was the film that first led to the director and his then editor Jafar Panahi to both be arrested by authorities and sentenced to six-year prison terms.

On appeal, Rasoulof's prison term was reduced to one year. For the entire duration of this term, The White Meadows appeared in festivals around the world.

– Reece Goodwin, Curator (Film & TV)