One of the best short films ever?

With acknowledgements to the film-makers and those who’ve commented on the YouTube channel …

This beautiful short movie is called “Qarrar-e- Panjshannba” or ” Thursday appointment”.

It is common for Muslims to visit the graves of loved ones on Thursdays (or Fridays) and offer prayers for the departed. Flowers are placed at the grave and dates may be offered to other people present in the cemetery. The old man is on his way to visit his wife’s grave; his wife is not really sitting beside him in the car at all (and you may even notice that she’s not got her seatbelt on, as a subtle hint).

They’re playing a Persian poetry game, where each person has to recite a poem that starts with the last letter of the previous one. The one recited is a love poem about humanity or about being kind to the living before we leave this world. The man sees another couple fighting in the car that pulls up next to him and offers the young, fighting couple the flowers he had bought for his wife. He knows she would approve.

This Iranian short film, by 35-year-old writer/director Mohammad Reza Kheradmandan, won an award at the Luxor African Film Festival.