"A Feast in a Mirror" is a film about the eternal feeling of otherness experienced by women, whether they are citizens or foreigners in any country, be it East or West. Years of oppression and the denial of basic rights in Iran have elicited rage and shame but, paradoxically, have also given rise to courage and power. Thus, as an Iranian woman, my character becomes a dichotomy. Although I often shouted silently as a woman by breaking the rules and taboos, I never gave up. Like many of my friends, I crossed borders to pursue independence. We are all aware that the wounds inflicted on this path will never fully heal.
As I grew older, I realized that the feeling of incarceration grew with me. Imagine a fidgeting woman in a cell, constantly asking herself, "Why don't I deserve genuine freedom?" And the moment she feels freedom, other inhumane rules in a Western country put her in shackles. Is it fate that my body is not my own choice?
In the journey from East to West, from imprisonment to freedom and back to imprisonment, memories have always acted as a double-edged sword. Not only memories but also dreams and myths continually transport me between parallel universes. This experimental documentary film portrays my perception of those universes while my body floats in different spaces.
This film explores the concept of heterotopia, focusing on women's bodies, and captures the feeling of imprisonment experienced through immigration as well as the protests against unfair laws. Whether in countries like the US or Iran, where dictators subvert the meaning of humanity, it examines the struggle for justice.