Docunight #31 [Calgary]: All My Trees

All My Trees
Directed by: Rakhshan Banietemad
2015 / 51 mins
Persian with English Subtitles

Environment and environmental activities have become popular topic in the recent years in Iran. From the Orumiyeh lake to Zayanderoud to dust storms, there are many reasons and reminders to be more active about the environment in Iran. The role of women in Iran has been a topic of interest more than before in the recent years. There’s one woman who has been active in this area longer than any of us.

Rakhshan Banietemad says: “Apart from Mahlagha Mallah’s role in the history of environmental activities, her exemplary vigor as a woman nearly a century old who continues to bear her social responsibility, is a worthy symbol for The Iranian woman’s participation in the realm of the civil society.”

Mahlagha Mallah is Iran’s eldest environmental activist and the founder of the first environmental NGO in Iran. Spending a few days in her home and accompanying her in environmental gatherings and activities is an excuse to portray the critical state of the environment in Iran.

Rakhshan Banietemad is an internationally and critically acclaimed Iranian film director and screenwriter. She is widely considered as premier female director, and her films have been praised at international festivals as well as being remarkably popular with Iranian critics and audiences. Her title as “First Lady of Iranian Cinema” is not only a reference to her prominence as a filmmaker, but it also connotes her social role of merging politics and family in her work