The Sealed Soil 1977 

Persian with English subtitles
aka Khake sar beh mohr

In pre-revolution Iran, a village girl's rejection of marriage and defiance of dress codes leads her family to believe she's possessed, prompting them to consult an exorcist.  As her community prepares to relocate to accommodate a government-mandated construction project, a young woman rebels against the restrictions imposed on her when she reaches marrying age by rejecting all suitors. Bressonian in its formal rigour and sense of detachment, the earliest complete surviving feature film directed by an Iranian woman is a hypnotic and quietly radical portrait of resistance, and a passionate rejection of patriarchy.

The film traces the "passive revolt" of a young girl who refuses to marry, a transformation that can be seen as a metaphor for Iran's transition from tradition to modernity. The film is the second feature film made by a female director in Iran. The film was never shown in Iran.

Director

Marva Nabili

Writer

Marva Nabili

Star

Flora Shabaviz