After consulting with his relatives, Alireza consents to the marriage of his 14-year-old daughter Asal. As individuals with differing perspectives, Alireza, his family, and Asal herself contemplate the decision.

MEET THE FILMMAKER: ELAHE ESMAILI

Born in 1990, Mashhad, Iran, she is a MA student at NFTS; and a BA alumna from Tehran University of Art. Since 2016 – when she ranked 1st among more than 150,000 participants in Iranian Art Konkur (national university entrance exam) – she is also a member of Iran's National Elites Foundation.

She is concerned about children's and women's rights and tries to represent social issues influencing them in her society through her movies; Issues like child marriage, child abuse, neglect, or violence by parents, rape, women-against-women, and social inequalities.

"I wish it was otherwise. Living in a patriarchal society for years has shaped my outlook as a filmmaker; lots of inequalities due to being female, being a second-class citizen as well as the tough feeling of being the property of a man. These are the important issues that I’m going to criticize through my films to build a better future for the generations to come".