Amal's Mother
In impoverished Baghdad under Saddam's dictatorship, 16-year-old Amal hopes to regain her social status at school by volunteering to find a book as a class gift for the departing literature teacher. Meanwhile, her emotionally fragile little brother becomes obsessed with the notion that a visiting uncle from America--whom he confuses with Santa Claus--will bring him toys. Ashamed never to have been able to give his son a toy, the child's father sells some more prized family possessions and buys a model car for him.
Mme Diril
Laurence
Camille is an emancipated 30-something woman who has no desire to settle down and have a family, preferring to coast along on a succession of ephemeral relationships and one-night stands. However, her lifestyle fails to satisfy her fully, and in a moment of depression she runs into a complete stranger, Alexis, whom she instantly falls in love with. Alexis, alas, is married, with two children, and works for the Socialist Party. None of this is going to deter Camille though…
The hero of the film unexpectedly discovers the ability to be in several places at the same time.
"[Last Station / Verjin kayan] is inspired by the play 'Sojourn at Ararat', written and directed by Gerald Papasian and Nora Armani who also perform in the film. The play was premièred in 1986 in Edinburgh and went on to make a world tour. The film tells the story of three people on tour with a play against the background of a time in which new nations emerge and old rulers make desperate efforts to cling on to power. The scenes in the play are comments on the life of three actors, the Man, the Woman - an Armenian couple - and the Stage Manager, a dissident Russian who was once a famous Shakespearian actor. The picture of the three becomes increasingly clear as the journey passes more and more locations and they meet more and more people." - IFFR
In 2085 A.D., global governing forces host a martial arts tournament. The last fighter standing wins Absolute Dominion for one faith.
