"39 Footnotes" Screening Program: Joonam by Sierra Urich

​Joonam (2023)

​Directed by: Sierra Urich

​Length: 100'

​Language: English/Persian

​Screening Program Curated by: Ruoyun Chen

​Filmmaker Sierra Urich grew up in rural Vermont, a place and an upbringing far removed from Iran, the homeland of her mother, Mitra, and grandmother, Behjat. Only knowing Iran through family stories, food, and holidays, and with the prospect of travel to the country a seemingly impossible dream, she embarks on a personal quest to make sense of her fractured Iranian identity.

​Navigating barriers of language and culture (not to mention the complications of geopolitical conflict and displacement), Sierra turns to Mitra and Behjat to construct a deeply moving and sometimes disarmingly funny portrait of three generations of women and their complex relationship to an Iran of the past.
Named for a Farsi term of endearment, Joonam is infused with humor and heart like only a film about family could be. Interrogating family history and memory, including her grandmother’s experiences as a preteen bride and her mother’s rebellious teenage years during the Iranian Revolution, Sierra Urich constructs a rich, personal film that poignantly reflects the experiences of the Iranian diasporic community and speaks to anyone affected by the dislocation that accompanies immigration.

​Joonam was nominated for the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

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​《亲爱的》 (2023)

​导演：Sierra Urich

​时长：100分钟

​语言：英语、波斯语

​展览放映系列策划人：Ruoyun Chen

​电影人 Sierra Urich 在佛蒙特州的乡村长大，这片土地和她的成长经历与她母亲 Mitra 和外祖母 Behjat 的故乡伊朗相去甚远。她对伊朗的了解仅限于家族故事、美食和节日，而前往这个遥远国度的梦想似乎难以实现。为了探寻自己破碎的伊朗身份，她踏上了一段在语言和文化的隔阂中穿行的旅程。Sierra 求助于母亲 Mitra 和外祖母 Behjat，试图拼凑出一幅既深情动人又幽默的画卷，展现了地缘政治冲突与离散之下的三代伊朗女性的疏离与亲密。

​影片以波斯语中昵称“Joonam”（亲爱的）命名，充满了家庭故事独有的幽默与温情。导演试图用初学的波斯语拼凑外祖母的新婚之夜和母亲在伊朗革命时期的桀骜青春。Sierra Urich 通过这部丰富而私密的影像作品，呈现了伊朗侨民群体的共同经验，也试图触及所有因移民而经历身份漂泊与割裂的人们。

​本片提名圣丹斯电影节评审团大奖。