Leila’s Brothers

Leila wijdt haar leven aan de zorg voor haar ouders en vier broers. In een land dat in de greep is van internationale economische sancties, gaat ook haar gezin gebukt onder de schulden. Terwijl de familie probeert de eindjes aan elkaar te knopen, ontdekt Leila dat haar vader zijn erfenis verstopt om de nieuwe patriarch te worden van de plaatselijke clan. Leila’s Brothers is een Iraans familiedrama en tevens de derde film van de 32-jarige regisseur Saeed Roustaee (‘Just 6.5’). Het familiedrama sleepte in Cannes de Fipresci prize in de wacht.

At 40 years old, Leila has spent her whole life taking care of her parents and her four brothers. The family argues constantly and is crushed by debts, in a country caught in the grip of international economic sanctions. As her brothers are trying to make ends meet, Leila formulates a plan: to start a family business that would save them for poverty. While they are in desperate need of financial support, Leila finds out that their father Esmail has secretly been hiding a family heirloom. He had been saving it as an offering to become the new Patriarch of the clan, the highest honor in the Persian tradition. This uncovering will bring chaos to the already fragile family dynamics. As the father’s health deteriorates, the actions of each family member will gradually lead the family one step closer to implosion.