ARCHIVES 2018 / SUMMERLESS

The supervisor of a primary school calls on her ex-husband, a painter longing for recognition, to renovate the school's façade. His mission is to cover the revolutionary slogans written on the walls of the playground with a large fresco. The task is daunting and he is lacking in motivation, until he meets a young mother who has come to wait for her child. Every day, she arrives early, seemingly to escape the boredom and anxiety caused by her social isolation. They strike up a conversation, and the particular rhythm of summer creates a unique atmosphere. This is where Summerless finds its theme: the collapse, of the walls, of education, of desire... Although familiar with documentary theatre, which he studied in Manchester, director Amir Reza Koohestani never speaks of politics directly in his work. His plays use the metaphoric approach dear to Persian poetry to evoke a system bent on controlling the private lives of the anonymous individuals it oppresses...

Amir Reza Koohestani
Born in Shiraz, the capital of the Fars Province in Southwest Iran, Amir Reza Koohestani lives and works in Tehran. His early passion for cinema and writing (articles, short stories, screenplays), led to his directing his first play at age 21, though he was denied authorisation to perform by the Ministry of Islamic Guidance. Since then, he has refined his style in successive creations, a poetical and critical renewal which breaks away from the naturalism of traditional Iranian theatre. Amir Reza Koohestani directed Hearing for the 70^th edition of the Festival d'Avignon.