In recent years, Iranian cinema has increasingly turned its attention to the southern region around the Strait of Hormuz, an area rarely depicted on screen. To mark a special occasion, “Visions of Iran” presents Abbas Amini’s poignant teenage drama “Hendi and Hormoz”, which was screened in the Berlinale’s Generation 14plus section in 2018.
Sixteen-year-old Hormoz marries thirteen-year-old Hendi in order to secure a job at the hematite open-cast mine. Despite their mutual affection, the pair soon find themselves caught up in a daily life marked by poverty, responsibility and social pressure. When Hendi becomes pregnant, Hormoz sees no other way out and turns to a drug smuggler to provide for his family.
With great sensitivity, Abbas Amini tells the story of coming of age under difficult conditions, combining the harshness of social reality with the striking landscapes of southern Persia.