Maryam Goormaghtigh, 2017, 80 min
As light as a feather yet anchored by the melancholy weight of approaching change, Before Summer Ends is the bittersweet chronicle of a single summer in the life of three Iranian students living in France, an utterly unique, beguiling mixture of documentary and fiction in the perennial form of a road movie. When Hossein and Ashkan learn that their friend Arash has decided to return to Iran, they convince him to take a road trip to the south of France, secretly hoping he will meet a woman and decide not to leave. But their encounter with two young women in a punk rock band does not yield the expected results and the twin realities of living in exile or returning to a repressive society begin to dawn on them. Playing themselves, the three leading men are by turns hilarious and heartbreaking, clumsy and compelling. But the greatest feat belongs to fledgling director Maryam Goormaghtigh, who made the film on a shoestring budget, with little more than her camera, a borrowed car, her three friends Arash, Hossein, and Ashkan, and a wonderfully empathetic eye for life’s quirks.

Attendees are invited to a cocktail party sponsored by Intîme Boutique Wine in the downstairs lounge after the screening.

This event is done with the support of UniFrance, Intîme Wines and Young French Cinema, a program of UniFrance & the Cultural Services of the French Embassy.

Tickets : Admission + Cocktail : $20

This screening is part of the Harlem film series Uptown Flicks @Maysles curated by Adeline Monzier and co-organized by Marie Gentine. The monthly series features screenings of top recent French films and documentaries followed by a drink to mingle and share reactions!