Artist Shirin Neshat won the Venice Silver Lion for Best Director for her debut film Women Without Men, based on the controversial novel by Shahrnoush Parsipour. The streets of Iran are teeming with protestors objecting to the CIA-backed coup d'état. But these four women have more immediate concerns. Fakhri is trapped in a loveless marriage and yearns for an old flame. Young prostitute Zarin tries to escape the devastating realisation that she can no longer see the faces of men. Politically awakened Munis must resist the seclusion imposed by her religiously traditional brother, while Faezeh remains oblivious to the turmoil in the streets and longs only to marry Munis’ domineering brother. ★★★★ Derek Malcolm, London Evening Standard ★★★★ "Beautifully shot, wonderfully ethereal" - Francesca Steele, The Times ★★★★ "A quietly tremendous film which ensnares both the heart and the mind" - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian