Short of the Week

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Drama Kevin Hamedani

In Her Place

An Iranian-American man returns to his homeland to meet and wed a young woman, but things don't go to plan when she decides to go against her father's wishes

Play
Drama Kevin Hamedani

In Her Place

An Iranian-American man returns to his homeland to meet and wed a young woman, but things don't go to plan when she decides to go against her father's wishes

In Her Place

Directed By Kevin Hamedani
Made In USA

A character-driven short set in Iran, Kevin Hamedani’s 13-minute drama In Her Place tackles issues of culture, tradition and gender with its narrative orbiting around a young woman arranged to wed an older man from the US. A film overflowing with powerful and captivating performances and a real human element coursing through its veins, In Her Place relies on strong, emotive storytelling rather than flashy production to make its mark.

Inviting viewers to take a glimpse into a society/culture not often captured in feature films, let alone shorts, director Hamedani explained in his Indiegogo statement (when the film was originally entitled Prince Ali) the drive behind creating this film. “We all strongly believe that stories about people we usually don’t see portrayed in movies need to be told and voices that aren’t usually heard by the mainstream audience need to be heard. And we believe that we have found one worth sharing”.

Beginning production as a narrative about an Iranian-American travelling back to his homeland to meet and wed a young Iranian woman, the core of the story remains in In Her Place, but the perspective has somewhat changed. Now seen through the eyes of the woman this man is arranged to marry, Hamedani’s story (which was co-written by Godzilla screenwriter Max Borenstein) is determined to show that Middle-Eastern characters don’t always have to be portrayed as the bad guys. “These types of characters are usually portrayed as a villain” Hamedani explains in an interview with Brittany Frederick for examiner.com, “even in films that I love, like Argo or Zero Dark Thirty, the Middle Eastern characters are usually the villains. We’re telling a story about characters who just happen to be Middle Eastern”.

With director Hamedani better known for his features ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction and Junk this more subtle approach to filmmaking might not be to the taste of fans of his previous work, but here at Short of the Week it’s something we’d love to see a lot more of.