Short of the Week

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Experimental Sara Boutorabi

Bita Joon

In this work of experimental fiction, the director casts her own Iranian family to collectively reenact a deceptively ordinary day in the life of her terminally ill mother.

Play
Experimental Sara Boutorabi

Bita Joon

In this work of experimental fiction, the director casts her own Iranian family to collectively reenact a deceptively ordinary day in the life of her terminally ill mother.
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Bita Joon

Experimental about Family in Live-Action
Directed By Sara Boutorabi
Produced By Sara Boutorabi & Kali Kahn
Made In USA

It’s a day like any other in Bita’s household. One thing is abundantly clear though: she is sick. Still, that doesn’t prevent her from living an ordinary life – complaining about her husband’s cooking, visiting her mother, or wishing her daughter a happy birthday. With Bita Joon, writer/director Sara Boutorabi has crafted a subtle yet unexpectedly sensitive film about family and grief, told with poignant authenticity.

Bita Joon is actually an autofiction. Though fully scripted, all the actors are members of Boutorabi’s own family, playing versions of themselves – with the titular role played by the filmmaker’s mother, and the narrative inspired by her experience with cancer. “I wanted to bring my family together in a performance inspired by their daily lives”, Boutorabi shared with us. Opting for a very naturalistic approach, the film shows how the mundanity of their lives is shaped by her illness. “My hope was to create conditions wherein they could collectively process and grieve my mother”, the filmmaker confessed. 

Bita Joon Short film

“The film is centered on my mother’s experience with Stage 4 Breast Cancer that metastasized to her brain and slowly began to affect her mobility” – Boutorabi on the very real inspiration behind her film

The film is far more affecting than one might expect. Bita is a strong character, but there is a captivating vulnerability in her performance. While it may be tempting to assume she is simply playing herself, she is able to convey deeply nuanced emotions, despite being so close to the material – which is not as easy as it sounds. Her character doesn’t speak much, with most of the film’s strong emotional beats happening in her quiet moments. It’s this quietness that really invites the audience into her home, allowing us to get a glimpse of her life and giving us the room to process the importance of those seemingly mundane moments. Editor Mahyar Mandegar shapes the film by crafting the perfect rhythm to enhance the emotional weight of the story. 

“Bita Joon is entirely scripted, with carefully crafted compositions to create the feeling a painting coming to life”

Director of Photography Bruce (Puyu) Wang shot the film on 16mm, instantly creating a visual aesthetic that matches the tone of the screenplay. Boutorabi admitted that the shots were “carefully crafted compositions to create the feeling of a painting coming to life”. The images do have an immersive quality, rooted in the location’s inherent authenticity. With vérité-style camera movements, the film feels as though we are watching in real time as Bita’s day unfolds, strengthening the emotional engagement of the film.  

Bita Joon had its World Premiere at the 2024 Palm Springs ShortFest, where it received a Special Mention. It was subsequently selected for the Izmir International Short Film Festival, and later won the Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance. Boutorabi has already completed production on her next short, which will premiere soon.