Babak Jalali
Babak Jalali was born in 1978 in Gorgan in northern Iran, but has lived mainly in London since 1986. He has a master’s degree in politics from the University of London as well as a diploma from the London Film School. During his course there he made three short films: A Trip to the Coast (2002), Nadja (2003), and Boxes (2004). His graduation film, Heydar, an Afghan in Teheran, told the story of a young Afghan working for a rich Iranian, spending his free time learning English in order to work as a translator in Afghanistan. The film was short-listed in the Best Short Film category at BAFTA in 2006. That same year Babak Jalali had a residency at the Cannes Festival’s Cinéfondation where he was able to develop his first feature film, Frontier Blues.
Filmography
2002 A TRIP TO THE COAST (short)
2003 NADJA (short)
2004 BOXES (short)
2006 HEYDAR, AN AFGHAN IN TEHRAN (short)
2009 FRONTIER BLUES
2016 RADIO DREAMS
2018 LAND
2023 FREMONT
Fremont (2023)
Beautiful and troubled 20-something Donya, an Afghan translator who used to work with the U.S. government, has trouble sleeping. She lives by herself in Fremont, California, in a building with other Afghan immigrants and often dines alone at a local restaurant watching soap operas. Her routine changes when she’s promoted to writing the fortunes at her job at a fortune cookie factory in the city. As her fortunes are read by strangers throughout the Bay, Donya’s smoldering longing drives her to send a message out to the world, unsure where it will lead. More
Frontier Blues (2009)
Hassan vit seul avec son oncle et un âne. Alam travaille dans un élevage de poulet, les oreilles perpétuellement collées à des écouteurs pour ses leçonsd’anglais. Il rêve de partir à Bakou avec Ana. Un photographe emmène un musicien pour faire des portraits des traditions de Golestan, où vit tout ce joli monde, non loin de la Caspienne et du Turkménistan. Babak Jalali est retourné saisir le pouls de sa bourgade natale. Des moments de pur cinéma More
