Unveiled

Director Angelina Maccarone (EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE), winner 1998 Outfest Audience Award) returns with UNVEILED, a stunningly beautiful portrait of an Iranian refugee struggling between survival in small-town Germany and her love for a local woman.

Fariba, persecuted in Iran because of a lesbian relationship, flees to Germany but her application for asylum is rejected. When her fellow inmate, a man named Siamak, commits suicide, Fariba assumes his identity and is sent to a refugee camp in a small German village. At first her survival seems assured, but the strain of upholding her male disguise in the cramped refugee quarters means a single mistake could blow her cover - at great personal peril. In order to pay for forged documents, Fariba takes an illegal job in a sauerkraut factory, where she is harassed about not wanting to shower with the boys and about being Iranian. The only saving grace is a German woman named Anne, to whom she grows close - dangerously close - as Anne begins to suspect Fariba's true identity.

Striking cinematography and remarkable performances work together to tell a captivating story that reveals the struggles of refugees, the confines of gender and the power of love. This deeply moving, intimate yet universal film will stay with you long after the curtain closes.

To compare this movie to Boys Don't Cry isn't completely fair; there is no transgender character in this film. However, in both films, the gritty, small-town narrow-mindedness threatens the main character, the cinematography is impressive, and themes of love and survival weave throughout.

In this story, the main character (Fariba) is punished for being gay in her home country of Iran (and being in a relationship with a married woman), and flees to small-town Germany, finding work illegally as a man in a factory (for reasons that would take too long to explain). As a man ("Siamak"), she attracts a lot of attention because she is a foreigner and of small stature. One of the racist/boorish factory workers (Uwe) antagonizes "Siamak," especially once "Siamak" starts to fall for Uwe's ex-girlfriend, Anne. In order to survive, Fariba has to navigate the secrets and lies she has been forced to create for survival, as well as the love she begins to find with Anne.

This movie is obscure and not well-known, but the script is solid, the acting is excellent, the characters are well-written, and the style/cinematography is great. "Lesbian" film or not, this gripping drama about love and its cost in an unjust world is worth watching.

The educated Fariba Tabrizi (Jasmin Tabatabai) flies from Teheran to Germany expecting to have asylum, since she is persecuted in Iran due to her lesbian relationship with her beloved Shirin. However, her application is denied by the authorities and Fariba has to return to her home country. When her recent acquaintance Siamak (Navíd Akhavan), who is grieving the death of his brother, commits suicide, Fariba assumes his identity and status of political refugee and is sent to a refugee camp in a German village. Fariba finds an illegal work in a cabbage factory and she has many difficulties for not having bath with the other male workers. She becomes close to her colleague Anne (Anneke Kim Sarnau) and they fall in love for each other. However, prejudice and her illegal condition jeopardize her exile in Germany.

"Unveiled" is a powerful tale of survival, prejudice and love that recalls the also magnificent "Boys Don't Cry" because of the situation of the lead character. The story is totally realistic and credible, exposing the intolerance of Muslin nations (Iran, in this case) with lesbians. The direction of unknown (at least for me) Angelina Maccarone is sensitive, disclosing the dramatic situation of Fariba never being corny. The stunning performances of Jasmin Tabatabai and Anneke Kim Sarnau are outstanding, and they show great chemistry in a beautiful and sad love story. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

One has to always wonder just how much people must suffer because of religious superstition and prejudice.

Fariba (Jasmin Tabatabai) is trying to escape persecution in Iran because of her sexual identity. She manages to assume the identity of a fellow refugee that commits suicide. Now, she is hiding as a man in Germany.

Unfortunately, she starts to fall in love with a coworker Anne (Anneke Kim Sarnau). Things progress, but as luck would have it, interference by two German louts cause her to be returned to Iran. Where it goes from there, we can only imagine, but Tabatabai's outstanding performance has us hoping for her swift return.