Residents of the Last Floor -- a short comedy drama from Iran

Residents of the Last Floor, an award winning short comedy/drama from Iran that provides a bittersweet look at the reality of modern life under Sharia laws.

Iranian director Amir Jalali once ran up to the roof of his apartment building from a birthday party when the police showed up outside the building. A modern society, one tied to the world through the internet and social media, it is also one where smoking, drinking, speaking to an unmarried person of the opposite sex are all offenses that can result in arrest and even public whipping. "At that moment on the rooftop of my apartment building in Yazd, Iran, while I felt alone, afraid, and disgusted by the flashing lights of the police cars, I knew that this humiliation was shared by a great number of people in Iran; a people whose everyday attempts for joy are criminalized, who always feel like outlaws and therefore share a resentment towards the law and distrust of one another. Here in Iran, where everyone is trained early in their lives to wear mask in public and lead a double life, stories like this are abundant. I asked myself: does the larger global community know about us? Are they able to see our social struggles beyond the politicized agenda of the media? There on that rooftop knew I had a story that should be told."

Come see Amir Jalali's story. It is an official selection of the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

Time: 12:15 pm - 3:00 pm.

Category: Arts | Visual Arts | Film / Cinema.