[English] TV-tip: Comma
The regional broadcaster Omroep Brabant made the documentary "Comma", which was recently shown in English by ThreeNL. It is now available on YouTube.
Click here to watch it online!
Amin, 27, the film maker himself, shows us the Asylum Seekers Centre where he had his first experience of the Netherlands. In voice-over he explains us how his father sent him to this country. His father stayed in Iran and was murdered; eventually the young man was granted a residence permit. But, he wonders, why and what for?
He is without hope, childhood or memories. He decides to travel to Iran in search of the memories of his youth which he lost as a result of his forced migration to the Netherlands. Filming in Iran is a dangerous activity. All the filming in this documentary is done in secret, from
inside a car, or from a balcony. The hectic atmosphere of Teheran, the city of his childhood, is tangible during car trips with loud radio music. The interviews with his friends and family, who must not be shown recognizably on screen, are shot against the background of their environment.
Step by step the film maker takes us along into a world that used to be his, but has now become so alienating to him. His family and friends insist that he hasn't missed out on anything. But if that is so, why does he feel such nostalgia, and what for?
Comma received the support of Broadcasting Organization Omroep Brabant, and was selected for the 24th International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) 2011.