Fereshteh is studying and works at a printers’ shop in Tehran. She wants to go to the US but is having trouble finding the time for a language course. This is because she also has a baby that her parents know nothing about. When they announce their visit at short notice, she has to find another place for one night for her illegitimate child. Fereshteh’s quick-witted friend Atefeh offers her support, but their ensuing odyssey through the city only reveals to the pair how limited their options as women are.

Director Ali Asgari stringently packs his narrative into a single day. Not only does he portray his intrepid protagonists, he also depicts what it means to lead a life outside traditional family structures – and the extent to which these structures shape Iranian society.

Ali Asgari, born in 1982 in Tehran/Iran, studied film in Italy and was an alumnus of the Berlinale Talent Campus 2013. His short films have been screened at more than 600 film festivals worldwide, including Sundance, London and Melbourne, and won more than 150 international awards. His feature film debut DISAPPEARANCE was developed as part of the Cannes International Film Festival’s Cinéfondation grant La Résidence. His second feature film UNTIL TOMORROW premiered at the Berlinale this year.

Filmography: 2011 TONIGHT IS NOT A GOOD NIGHT FOR DYING, 2012 BARBIE, 2013 MORE THAN TWO HOURS, 2014 THE BABY, 2015 THE PAIN, 2016 THE SILENCE; VIKA (all short films), 2017 DISAPPEARANCE, 2018 DELAY, 2020 PILGRIMS; WITNESS (all three short films), 2022 UNTIL TOMORROW