Unfinished Stories

Unfinished Stories employs a structure familiar to Western indie cinema by following a set of seemingly random but interlocking episodes. Debut director Pourya Azarbayjani presents the tales of several women who spend much of the film alone on the streets of Tehran after dark – a particularly fraught place for unescorted women in a Muslim nation. The film's three primary stories each represents a different point in the cycles of courtship and childbirth. One young woman hopes to elope with her unseen fiance, but faces insurmountable problems when he doesn't show up. An older, married woman seeks to buy a pregnancy test, the results of which could dictate her marriage's fate. A new mother at a hospital resorts to drastic measures when a financial problem arises. (c) http://clatl.com/atlanta/iranian-film-today/Content?oid=1275194

Directed by Pourya Azarbayjani, Unfinished Stories leans on a strong ensemble — Saiideh Amir Saii, Hengame Ghaziani, Setareh Pesyani — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about screen titles of 2007.