The film depicts the bitter story of Navid, an Iranian Kurd university student, who has become "starred".[a] Navid tries hard not to lose his love, Setareh.[b] They met 4 years ago during the unrest in Tehran after the disputed election in 2009, and now Setareh's father asks Navid to clarify his relation with her. We accompany Navid in his efforts to provide the minimum requirements of living, and we take a glance at the various layers of the social classes in Iran.
I’m not angry! is an independent product in the Iranian cinema. That is, the film has not received any financial help from any institute, organisation, centre, institution, state-run or non-governmental network or foundation. The shooting of I’m not angry! was done in more than 60 locations from the northernmost to the southernmost areas in Tehran. A 2013 production, I’m Not Angry!, was a controversial film in 32nd Fajr International Film Festival in 2014 and the only Iranian film in 64th Berlin International Film Festival in 2014. It is Reza Dormishian's second feature film after the feature Hatred. Shot completely in Tehran, I’m Not Angry! explicitly criticises today's conditions in Iran, and as it is written at the beginning of the film, it is ‘A Free Adaptation of Today Iran’.
Berlin International Film Festival in its festival's website announced on 18 January that I’m Not Angry! would be screened in the 64th Berlinale, held 6–16 February 2014 in Germany, as the sole representative of the Iranian cinema. The film had an enthusiastic reception from the critics and audience, and after each screening, Reza Dormishian and the two leading actors Navid Mohammadzadeh and Baran Kosari attended the press conferences among lengthy applauses.
Synopsis
I’m Not Angry! is the story of Navid, a "starred" (student expelled for political reasons) university student who—while trying to provide the minimum requirements of a normal life—tries not to get angry when he is faced with the immoralities prevalent in his society, and he does all he can not to lose his love, Setareh.
^A term used in Iran for the university students who have been expelled from university because of their political beliefs or activities, hence the insertion of an asterisk in front of their names.
