Entertainment · Film · 7 hrs ago
A Fox Under a Pink Moon follows an Iranian teen refugee through art
A Fox Under a Pink Moon follows Soraya Akhlaghi, an Iranian teenager who films her life over five years.
At 16, she is at an asylum centre in Istanbul after leaving work as a maid in Tehran, and she hopes to join her mother in Austria.
Repeated attempts to cross borders fail, leaving Soraya caught between Iran and Turkey and facing a violent husband.
She also watches the Taliban take over Afghanistan and identifies with people trying to flee.
Soraya turns to drawing and sculpture to express her fears and hopes, creating figures such as a fox, a moon and a clown.
The film, assembled remotely by co-director Mehrdad Oskouei, uses her smartphone footage and animated versions of her art.
The film presents art as a source of resilience for Soraya and other refugee children, while her future remains uncertain.
A Fox Under a Pink Moon is a self-portrait of Iranian teenager Soraya Akhlaghi, filmed on a smartphone over five years.
Soraya was 16 at the beginning of the film and is seeking to escape a violent life and reach her mother in Austria.
The film follows her repeated attempts to cross borders, including journeys that end in failure.
Soraya channels her struggles into drawings and sculptures featuring a moon, a fox, a clown and demons.
Co-director Mehrdad Oskouei assembled the film remotely.
- Who
- Soraya Akhlaghi, an Iranian teenager of Afghan heritage.
- What
- A documentary self-portrait follows her attempts to escape and her use of art to express her experiences.
- When
- Filmed over five years. Soraya is 16 at the beginning of the film.
- Where
- The story includes Tehran, Istanbul and attempted border crossings.
- Why
- Soraya hopes to join her mother, who left for Austria after Soraya’s father died.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Soraya films her experiences on a smartphone, and co-director Mehrdad Oskouei assembles the footage remotely.
Soraya, aged 16, starts out at an Istanbul asylum centre.
Soraya winds up back in Tehran with her violent husband.
Soraya watches events on television and identifies with people trying to board a US plane.
- Filmmaker
- Soraya Akhlaghi
- Co-director
- Mehrdad Oskouei
- Filming period
- Five years
- Age at film’s beginning
- 16
- Mother’s destination
- Austria
- Art figures
- The moon, a fox, a clown and demons