A film by Babak Jalali. In English, Farsi and Kantonese with German subtitles.

[Credits] [Tickets & Termine] [Trailer]

Beautiful and trou­bled 20-some­thing Donya, an Afghan trans­la­tor who used to work with the U.S. govern­ment, has trou­ble slee­ping. She lives by hers­elf in Fremont, California, in a buil­ding with other Afghan immi­grants and often dines alo­ne at a local restau­rant wat­ching soap operas. Her rou­ti­ne chan­ges when she’s pro­mo­ted to wri­ting the for­tu­nes at her job at a for­tu­ne coo­kie fac­to­ry in the city. As her for­tu­nes are read by stran­gers throug­hout the Bay, Donya’s smol­de­ring lon­ging dri­ves her to send a mes­sa­ge out to the world, unsu­re whe­re it will lead.

Shot in black and white, and with warmth and a wry sen­se of humor, direc­tor Babak Jalali has craf­ted a loving por­trait of a young woman haun­ted by the past but still fil­led with desi­re for com­pa­n­ion­ship and con­nec­tion. Featuring a cast of unfor­gettable, uni­que cha­rac­ters, and ancho­red by a begui­ling debut per­for­mance from real-life Afghan refu­gee Anaita Wali Zada, Fremont is an ode to the curious beau­ty of try­ing to build a new life in a stran­ge land.

Credits:

US 2023, 91 Min., engl.-farsi–kantonesische OmU
Regie & Schnitt: Babak Jalali
Kamera: Laura Valladao
mit Anaita Wali Zada, Hilda Schmelling, Jeremy Allen White, Avis See-tho 

Trailer:

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