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NASRIN

Nasrin is an eye opener and really puts life into perspective! This documentary makes you want to jump off your couch and live your life. By the end of it, you'll feel so appreciative of liberties we take for granted.

This film is held together by first-hand video footage, calls and interviews with Nasrin Sotoudeh, an Iranian lawyer and human rights activist. The videos have time jumps, from 2006/2008 to more recent ones from 2016/2017. The majority of the movie is in Persian with English subtitles. Nasrin's letters are translated to English, narrated by Olivia Colman. The film also includes interviews with Nasrin's friends and family. The cinematographers keep their identities hidden, filming Nasrin in secret, as to not be persecuted.

The film really shows Nasrin's bravery. Videos of her talking on the phone about her cases show how passionate she is about her job. We see her not only as a lawyer, but as a mother and an activist. The highlight of this documentary is when Nasrin goes to protests and stands up for human rights. At the end of the movie, Nasrin's husband states how she will go to prison for the second time as a political prisoner. Her sentence is thirty four years and one hundred and forty eight lashes. We see people worldwide protesting her sentence, from Ireland, Turkey, Spain and the United States. Her sentence was reduced to twelve years and seventy four lashes. Iranian citizens still fight for her freedom.

The lesson to be learned from this film is to always fight for what you believe in. Nasrin fought for her clients as a lawyer and continues to fight for change in her country. She has defied boundaries by refusing to abide by the Iranian dress code and to participate in sit-in protests.

I give Nasrin 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 16 to 18, plus adults. It premieres at Doc NYC November 11, 2020.

By Heather S., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 14

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Secretly filmed in Iran for over two years, NASRIN is an immersive portrait of human rights activist and political prisoner Nasrin Sotoudeh and Iran's remarkably resilient women's rights movement. Nasrin has long fought for the rights of women, children, LGBT prisoners, religious minorities, journalists and artists, and those facing the death penalty. She was arrested in 2018 for representing women who protested Iran's mandatory hijab law and sentenced to 38 years in prison, plus 148 lashes. Narrated by Academy Award-winning actress Olivia Colman and featuring acclaimed filmmaker Jafar Panahi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, journalist Ann Curry, exiled women's rights activist Mansoureh Shojaee, and Nasrin Sotoudeh. With an original song by Tony Award-winning composers Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty with lyrics based on Nasrin's letters from prison to her children; performed by 4-time Grammy winner, Ang�lique Kidjo.