EMPTY YOUR POCKETS Short Film
Logline: An airport customs officer deals with various passengers while trying to secure his job, navigating a totalitarian system.
Tara Aghdashloo’s third short film EMPTY YOUR POCKETS produced by OPC Film and Intermission Film premiered at the Oscar and BAFTA Qualifying BlackStar Film Festival. It has competed at festivals globally, receiving 16 awards and qualifying for Oscar, BIFA, and CSA: Outstanding Short Film Direction and Outstanding Short Lead Actor by CSA Qualifying ReelWorld Film Festival, Best Foreign Short Film at BIFA Qualifying Unrestricted View Film Festival, Best Fiction at International Festival de Vébron, Best Director at HB Film Festival, Best International Short at Giddy Film Festival, Audience Award for International Shorts at Chelsea Film Festival, Best Actor at St Andrews Film Festival, Best Film at Quarantine Film Film Festival, Best Fiction at Novella Short Film Festival, Best Narrative Short at California Women Film Festival, Best Screenplay at Love Your Shorts, Special Jury Award at Kaaffilm Festival, Best Drama at Short To the Point Festival, Best Drama at Sustain Film Festival, Best Social Change Short at Short Film Factory, Best Short at Madrid Short Film Festival. It was selected as a top 10 Finalist for Short of the Year by Short Films Matter.
Festivals & Screenings: BlackStar Film Festival, Cinequest Film Festival, HollyShorts London, ReelWorld Film Festival (winner: Best Direction and Best Lead Actor), Chelsea Film Festival (winner: Audience Award International Short), HB Festival (winner: Best Director, nom: Best Short Film), Unrestricted View Film Festival (winner: Best International Short), International Festival de Vébron (winner: Best Fiction Film), St Johns International Women’s Film Festival, DeadCenter Film Festival, Beeston Film Festival (nom: Best Director), Southport Festival, Quarantine Film Festival (winner: Best Films), FascinAsian Film Festival, Mansfield Film Festival, St Andrews Film Festival (winner: Best Actor), Tweetfest Film Festival, California Women Film Festival (winner: Best Short Narrative), Sustain Film Festival (winner: Best Drama, nom: Best International Short), Margate Film Festival, Novella Film Festival (winner: Best Fiction), NOAM Faenza Film Festival, Bardi International Film Festival, Giddy Island Film Festival (winner: Best International Short), Persian Film Festival Australia, North East International Film Festival, Kaafilm Festival (winner: Special Jury Award), Love Your Shorts (winner: Best Screenplay), Cinécl’R Festival, Big Syn International, Short to The Point (winner: Best Drama, nom: Comedy), Short Film Factory (winner: Best Social Change Short), Madrid Short Film Festival (winner: Best Short), Nostalgia Film Festival, MENA x Close UP Festival, Yekibook Yekinabood Toronto, Cables and Cameras Bristol, Rizhome Foundation Edmonton.
“Aghdashloo’s script is sharp, bringing moments of levity into a story that’s as heartfelt as it is poignant. The film never feels heavy-handed; it invites us to observe Hassan’s life through a fly-on-the-wall lens, thanks to Farhad Ghader’s expert cinematography. The visuals are polished yet intimate, with naturalistic lighting and grading that lend authenticity to every frame.” – Short Films Matter
“Kiarash Dadgar’s gentle performance moved us deeply. His precise gestures and strong presence made us think about our own behavior upon the current state of things. Do we really dare to ask the dreaded question: Are we being honest with ourselves?” – St Andrews Film Festival Jury
“Where there is a price, there is no justice. ” – Beeston Film Festival Jury
“A quiet force. A Sharp lens. The jury grants a special mention to Empty Your Pockets for its poetic clarity, cultural memory, and bold restraint.” – Kaaffilm Short Film Festival
“Empty Your Pockets manages to capture the strangeness of living under autocracy – and strange dynamics that come with it that range from amusing, confusing and anxiety-inducing. The Persian-language short is unnerving in its tonal shifts throughout its short runtime – with Hassan confronted with scenarios that range from ludicrous to life-risking. It’s quite hard to nail down exactly what the film is – and this lucidity is an impressive accomplishment from Tara Aghdashloo, who wrote and directed the film to highlight the dilemmas of those living under totalitarian governments. ” – Patrick Foley, UK Film Review
“The cinematography amplifies the claustrophobic plainness in the set design with its tight 4:3 aspect ratio, stark lighting, lines everywhere—the walls wield their ability to close in on you as a threat. They loom over you, and you have nothing else to look at. The authorities line the walls and the anonymous masses obediently glide in and out of the frame like items on a conveyor belt. The neatness is stultifying.” – Indie Shorts Mag
“[A] great cast and a story that is rarely told, especially in this fashion, making it a brilliant look into a seemingly ordinary life, but done in a wholly original way.” – Bitpix TV Top 15 at HollyShorts
EMPTY YOUR POCKETS first presented at Marché du Film in Cannes by the Iranian Independent Filmmakers Association (IIFMA), and has joined the slate of Festival Formula.
PRESS
Finalist for Short of the Year 2024
Featured on Cinema Rex Podcast
5 Star Review in Short Films Matter
4.7 Star Review in Indie Shorts Mag
Top 15 Films at HollyShorts Film Festival
Review by Patrick Foley in UK Film Review
Review by Ali Farahmand in Phoenix News
Interview with VOA TV on her films and the challenges facing Iranian women filmmakers
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Written & Directed by Tara Aghdashloo
Production Companies OPC Production, Intermission Film
Supported by Canada Council of the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, British Arts
Producers Michelle Koerssen, Tara Aghdashloo
Co-Producer Nedda Sarshar
Executive Producers Sam Cryer, Harland Weiss, Caterina Jackman, Jason Aita, Isil Gilder, Emily Harris Donovan Boden, Sahar Yousefi
Director of Photography Farhad Ghaderi
Editor Abolfazl Talooni
Production Designer Hope Little
Costume Designer Anna Viksene
Starring Kiarash Dadgar, Amir Zavosh, Bahman Dadui, Armin Lou, Peyman Shariati, Leyla Shamshiri, Nikta Atapour, Farshideh Nasrin, Mehdi Slampoor, Camelia Ghazali, Toomaj Daneshbehzadi, Banafsheh Taherian, Kimia Kalantari
Production Manager Clarisa Susette
Production Coordinator Sofia Maria Gracia
1st AD Lauren Guyatt
2nd AD Golan Sahraei,Shervineh Didandeh
Intimacy Coordinator Lindsay Somers
1st AC Adrian Muir
2nd AC Aiden Carter
Production Assistants Garcy Hughes, Amir Derakhshan, James Gilchrist
Prop Master Selin Togay
Set Decorator Ollie Green, Candice Silver, Frankie Rast
Ant Sculpture Jannat
Hair & Makeup Artist Aveen Damghani
1st Assit Hair & Makeup Caz Fullerton
Costume Set Key Vivi Diaz
Costumer Grace White
Sound Mix & Boom Op Aryan Abbasnia
Script Supervisor Sadaf Khajeh
Stills Photographer Jeff Chiu
Gaffer Roham Abtahi
Key Grip Nazariy Andrukhiv
Grip Christopher Fernandes, Ivan Streltsov
Spark Christofer Perkins, Mahan Ashtari
DIT Kyle Brunet
Graphics & Poster Saam Keshmiri
Colourist Jonny Tully
Colour House CHEAT
Colour Producer Dominic Strachen, Emily Davies
Sound Design & Mix Ensieh Maleki
Original Score Performativity Ltd.
Music by the legendary Faramarz Aslani, and Sadra Imanpour
Casting Shima Monfared, Siavash Shabanpour, Amir Zavosh, Baharan Baniahmadi, Mina Rafie
Catering Narges Hanji
Equipment Ontario Camera thanks to Daniel Shojaei
Intermission Short Film Fund Producer Nia Childs
Intermission Film Executive Assistant Molly Blumsom
OPC Films Liaison Molly Shears
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Press Kit & More Info: emptyyourpocket.film@gmail.com
Instagram: instagram.com/emptyyourpocketsfilm