The Circle = Dayereh = Il Cerchio [Widescreen]

From Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi (The White balloon), comes The Circle” a tale of female oppression in modern day Iran. “The Circle opens in a hospital maternity ward where a woman has just given birth. Her mother is horrified by the catastrophic outcome - its a girl. She had been assured (via ultrasound) that it would be a boy and laments the fact that a divorce will ensue and her daughter will be shamed. This opening sequence reflects the status of women in Iran, as unwanted, second-class citizens without rights or a voice in society. “The Circle” tells the stories of several women in a city over the course of one day and night. Simple acts of buying a bus ticket or smoking a cigarette in public are denied to women and are punishable by law. The women of the film, in constant danger of imprisonment and harassment, are shunned by their families and seek refuge with each other. Panahi adopts a documentary style for this feature film, as street noise fills the soundtrack and the camera follows the characters around, almost hounding them. “The Circle” was banned in Iran due to its controversial subject matter. In Farsi with English subtitles. (Awards: Winner of the Golden Lion, Best Film at the 2000 Venice Film Festival)