Winner, Jury Grand Prize, 2009
Winner, Best Screenplay, 2009
With the return of their friend Ahmad from Germany, a group of old college friends decide to reunite for a weekend outing by the Caspian Sea. The fun starts right away as they quickly catch on to the plan of lively Sepideh, who has brought along Elly, her daughter’s kindergarten teacher, in the hope of setting her up with recently divorced Ahmad. But seemingly trivial lies, which start accumulating from the moment the group arrives at the seashore, suddenly swing round and come back full force when Elly disappears in a troubling incident. The joyful atmosphere evaporates as the friends try to understand how and why she is no longer there. Panic sets in. Accusations fly and the friends become judgemental, picking over the previous day’s conversations trying to find fault in Elly’s character. The group’s opinions of Elly veer from those of the first day, until at last the truth is out.