She also has to navigate a confusing bureaucratic circus with a strapping cop watching her every move, while her family are more hindrance than help. But Selma soon enlists the support of a local hairdresser. This is a wry, slyly effective satire on entrenched traditions. With her fine comic timing Iranian star Farahani proves a subtly magnetic lead, ably backed by an entertaining cast of mostly female allies and antagonists.
“Via a colourful array of characters . . . , first-time writer-director Manele Labidi packs a lot of affectionate observations into a compact running time.” Screen International