V E N T N O R   F I L M  S O C I E T Y​​

An Iranian widow lives alone in Tehran since her husband’s death and her daughter’s departure for Europe, until an afternoon tea with friends leads her to break her solitary routine. What begins as an unexpected encounter quickly evolves into an unpredictable, unforgettable evening as she embarks on a relationship with a lonely taxi driver in a gentle, yet quietly subversive, comedy of late-in-life romance.

 

However, this charming romance aroused the ire of the Iranian Government, who prevented the directors from attending their own premieres and confiscated their computers. It seems word had got out that there were scenes of women with hair showing and dressed immodestly.

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Lili Farhadpour gives a fine performance as the 70-year-old Mahin, a widow who lives alone in in her apartment with only FaceTime for contact with her family, who live abroad. This moving film is a study of marriage, widowhood, love and loneliness in old age. Her days are long and filled with the routines of her home and garden, and the odd gossipy lunches with other women, an opportunity to compare ailments.

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But Mahin has not entirely given up on love, and keeps an eye out for promising encounters in her daily life. But the city she explores is unrecognisable to her, not least because of the constant presence of the morality police.

 

She finds herself meeting a single military veteran, musician and taxi-driver, whom she invites to her home with an offer to bake him her favourite cake, and so begins a night of music, dancing, a great deal of wine and the sharing of secrets and dreams.

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A heart-warming and bittersweet comedy of moments seized in the autumn of life.​

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To book, please email ventnorfilmsociety@hotmail.com.

 

The Critics Say...

"A moving tale of nascent romance between two kindly septuagenarians has been enough, apparently, to send the Iranian government into a tailspin." **** Kevin Maher, The Times

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"As well as everything else, this wonderfully sweet and funny film will contribute to the debate about whether repressive regimes are the nursery of artistic greatness." Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian *****

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"My Favourite Cake is radical and heartwarming. Above all, it’s a reminder that in a world where everyone is scrutinised and judged, pure love remains timeless." Whelan Barzey, Time Out

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"Plans have a way of going awry in this lovely, intimate, tragicomic tale of late-blooming love in the shadow of Iran’s repressive regime. In its gentle way, this is a subversive piece of film-making.." **** Wendy Ide, The Observer

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