Synopsis
The dried tears of Lake Urmia in northern Iran are for sale – salt in plastic bags at the roadside. Once the biggest lake in the Middle East, only a fraction of it is left today. This is its elegy, presenting both its former splendour and its state today. Wavering between factuality and melancholy, the film finally opts for a pessimistic view of society. The dying lake becomes a symbol. (DOK Leipzig, Carolin Weidner)
Jury Statement Innsbruck Nature FF:
“A love poem, a love song to a place that disappeared – once one of the biggest lakes in the Middle East, vanished and turned almost complete into a salt desert – lake Urmia. This poetic essay embarks from the former crowded shores back in the time, when there still was water, and leads us to recent images of the scenery. The young filmmaker Daniel Asadi Faezi visualizes the mourning by arranging playful but gently the images and brings Urmia for a glimpse of the moment back to life but let us its loss resonates long after.”
