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Radical Hope

Ava, exiled after her sister’s execution, befriends the judge’s children – but hides a secret plan.

synopsis

Ava, a 28-year-old Iranian woman with a sharp sense of humour, appears to be happy, living in exile in Germany, with her father. Secretly, her thoughts revolve around her sister, Shala, who was executed in Iran fighting for women’s rights, and the man responsible for her death: Judge Heydari. Ava deliberately befriends his children Ali and Hoda in Germany, with one goal in mind: to find out when Heydari visits them, in the hope that he will be arrested and stand trial for crimes against humanity. The three seemingly become friends. But with each encounter, Ava’s past in Iran increasingly haunts her. The greater the pressure on her the more a “secret power” grows within her. As their relationship becomes deeper than expected, Ali uncovers Ava’s secret but chooses not to betray her. Plagued by his own resentment towards his father, he proposes a bizarre plan: a fake wedding designed to lure Heydari to Germany. The plan succeeds, but when the judge arrives in Germany, he is not arrested. Ava faces a final decision – she could use her “secret power” to take revenge on Heydari and kill him. Ultimately, she chooses a different path for the sake of her humanity and frees herself.

Director’statement

Radical Hope is born from the emotional aftermath of my documentary Seven Winters in Tehran. When I learned that the judge responsible for Reyhaneh Jabbari’s death had a family living freely in the same German city as her mother and sisters, I was shaken. I needed to understand how survivors, fantasising about revenge, instead battle with admirable non-violent resilience. This is a film about exile, trauma, and resilience – but also about the West’s quiet complicity. As a German director deeply engaged with Iranian realities, and through close collaboration with my longtime co-writers Kia and Sina Ataeian Dena, I aim to craft a narrative that defies clichés. Radical Hope moves between the real and the surreal, balancing psychological drama with magical realism. Ava is a complex heroine – wounded, witty, and unpredictable. Her story is a poetic investigation into moral responsibility, identity, and imagination as a strategy of survival.

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