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Chosen

Alexis Kouros
2003 Finland 68 minutes Persian; Finnish

A number of Afghani families are nervously waiting in the yard of the UNCHR offices in Tehran. Some of them have come from faraway cities in Iran. They all have one thing in common: they wish to go to Finland. However, when asked, many confess that they know nothing about the country. In fact some of them are hearing the name for the very first time. There are over 3 million Afghans in Iran and Finland is accepting only 200 refugees. Being chosen to go to Europe, for these Afghans, is like winning the lottery. Meanwhile, US forces have begun bombarding Afghanistan and the Taliban are withdrawing from Afghan cities. A delegation representing the Finnish authorities has arrived in Tehran to interview the candidates. The lucky few will move to Finland to start a new life; those rejected will continue to struggle for a decent life in Iran, or have to go back to Afghanistan. Khaled, a 12-year-old Afghan boy and his family are among those pre-selected by UNHCR.

Alexis Kouros

Né en 1961 à Kermanshah, Iran. Il commence des études de cinéma qu’il interrompt pour prendre part à la guerre contre l’Irak, où il servira également comme réalisateur. Suite à cette expérience, il décide d’étudier la médecine, il se rend pour cela en Hongrie puis en Finlande, où il réside désormais. Il a réalisé : • Diary of a MEP to Be, 1999 • Waiting for Godot at de Gaulle, 2000 • Rubina Doesn’t Live Here Anymore…, 2002 • Without my Daughter, 2002

Production :
Dream Catcher Productions
Distribution :
Dream Catcher Productions
Editing :
Alexis Kouros
Sound :
Alireza Valinezhad; Farshid Baluchi
Photography :
Alexis Kouros; Mahmoud Fahimi