about the film
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A World Between is the true story of a young Iranian American raised
in the United States, who travels to Iran to discover his father's
homeland. Not burdened by the typical stereotypes held by Americans
about Iran, he discovers a land in many ways different than expected,
but one that has much more in common with us than one would think.
His encounters take him across the country, from the teeming capital
of Tehran, to the center of Ancient Persia in Esfahan, and finally to
the home of his ancestors Iran's holiest city, Mashhad. In each place
we meet his friends and relatives who help form a more representative
view of Iranians than we often see in the West.
As the film progresses our narrator becomes more Iranian, both
personally and practically, as he is forced to buy an exemption from
the Iranian military to prolong his stay.
In Tehran he plays on the city's only baseball diamond with their
team, befriending the head of the Iranian umpire's union, visits
conspicuously Westernized shopping areas where fashionable young women
spend their days and the coffee shops where they spend their nights.
In Esfahan, Ali, a teahouse waiter takes him on a cultural and
historical tour of the stunning monuments of the Persian capital in
what is truly a living museum.
In Mashhad he connects with his relatives, enjoying large family
gatherings that span five generations and visiting the Shrine of Imam
Reza, the burial place of his grandparents, a site where filming is
usually prohibited. And finally, his father takes him to the now
dilapidated house where he grew up.
It is the story of one young man's experience, but it speaks volumes
to all Iranians living abroad and anyone who desires to know the place
that his forefathers called home.
We see Iran through the narrator's eyes that understand both Iranian
and American sensibilities.
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