Title: These Voices Are Real
Foreign Title: In Sedaha Vagheist
Year: 2026
Country of Origin: Iran
Language: In Persian with English subtitles
Director: Baran Nikrah
Click here to see the cast and crew
A mother and daughter are waiting for test results at a local clinic. They are quiet. The mother is stressed; the young girl is patient, observing and absorbing her mother’s anxiety. There is tension in the air. The mother secretly buys a wig; the daughter gets a Barbie doll. It has been a long day for both.
On their way home, the daughter listens to her mother’s phone messages, breaking the boundaries between child and adult, between play and fantasy, and the harshness of reality.
In a small setting and within a brief period, Nikrah manages to touch on issues of femininity, religion, and parenting, shifting the story from personal to social, and from fiction to reality. With precise and delicate filming and editing, she creates a gentle yet powerful comment on life in modern-day Iran.
Beautifully done. A must-see film.
