The Fifth Reaction (Vakonesh-e Panjom) by Tahmineh Milani (Iran, 2003, 106 min., 35 mm)

Synopsis:
From veteran director Tahmineh Milani, long a pioneer in women's issues, comes The Fifth Reaction, the most controversial film in Tehran's 2003 Fajr Film Festival. Fereshteh, played by celebrated Iranian actress Niki Karimi, is a recently widowed schoolteacher who finds herself pitted against her father-in-law, a powerful Tehran businessman, for custody of her two sons. Aided by her female friends, she plots to escape with her children, leading to a suspenseful drama reminiscent of Thelma & Louise.
In Farsi with English subtitles.

Post-screening panel discussion with Rabeah Ghaffari (Filmmaker, NYC) and Kamran Rastegar (Columbia University) Program co-presented by the Center for the Study of Gender & Sexuality, NYU

Biography:
Born in Tabriz in 1960, Tahmineh Milani is one of the most successful Iranian woman filmmakers on the international scene. Milani began her film career in 1979 as a researcher for screenplays at the Free Film Workshop. Going on to work as a script girl and an assistant director, she graduated from Iran University of Science & Technology in 1986 with a degree in architecture. Her debut feature, Children of Divorce, was co-winner of the Best First Film Prize at the 8th Fajr Film Festival, but her international breakthrough came with The Legend of Ah (1990) and Two Women (1999). Milani is the winner of four prestigious awards at the American Film Institute Film Festival for her Two Women and The Hidden Half.


Festivals & Awards:
Grand Prix for Best Film, Geneva Film Festival, 2003
Audience Award, 14th Annual Festival of Films from Iran, Chicago, 2003
Cairo International Film Festival, 2003
Festival of Films from Iran, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, 2003

Reviews:
With the similarly themed Two Women (1999) and The Hidden Half (2001), and now The Fifth Reaction, Tahmineh Milani continues to be no less than implacable in her fight for the rights of Iranian women.
-Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times