The National Film Board of Canada, in association with the Cannes Short Film Corner, welcomes you to the 6th NFB Online contest. Vote for your favorite short film.

Director: Benafsheh Modaressi
Length: 7'14
Origin: Iran

A story of an imaginary city under a harsh ruler. Love is forbidden, and freedom a distant memory. Few people have the courage to fall in love, challenging the forbidden symbols....This film has no dialogue because the people are too scared to express themselves....in the end, love shines back in to the city. The courage of those who dared to love has saved it. The last clip shows a child tasting life and freedom by eating the apple (symbol of life) freely.

Tehranian-born Banafsheh Modaressi worked from 1999 as a freelance photojournalist and reporter for magazines such as Paris Match, Die Zeit, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, as well as several local newspapers. Government restrictions in Iran hampered her photojournalism career, so Modaressi obtained an M.A. in Graphics and Design in 2005 then began teaching at the University of Applied Science and Technology in Tehran. She has had over 20 photo and mixed-media exhibitions, both inside and outside of Iran, and her love of photography and drawing ultimately led her to animation. Modaressi started film-making in the workshop of Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami ın 2008 and followed his workshops from Tehran to Villa Arson.