Facing Mirrors

{{Infobox film

| name = Facing Mirrors

| image = Facing Mirrors.jpg

| caption =

| director = Negar Azarbayjani

| writer = Negar Azarbayjani
Fereshteh Taerpoor

| producer = Fereshteh Taerpoor

| starring = Homayoun Ershadi

| cinematography = Turaj Mansuri

| editing =

| music =

| distributor = Box Entertainment

| released = {{Film date|2011|9||TIFF|2012|10|24|Iran|df=yes}}

| runtime = 102 minutes

| country = Iran

| language = Persian

}}

Facing Mirrors ({{langx|fa|آینه‌های روبرو|Aynehaye Rooberoo}}) is a 2011 Iranian drama film directed and co-written by Negar Azarbayjani.{{cite book |title=International Film Guide 2012 |first=Ian Hayden |last=Smith |year= 2012 |isbn= 978-1908215017 |page= 146|publisher=International Film Guide }}{{cite web |url=http://www.insideout.ca/torontofestival/film/facing-mirrors-aynehaye-rooberoo |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130115110109/http://www.insideout.ca/torontofestival/film/facing-mirrors-aynehaye-rooberoo |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 January 2013 |title=Film: Facing Mirrors |accessdate=29 August 2012 |work=insideout }} The film is produced and co-written by Fereshteh Taerpoor.{{Cite web|url=http://www.slackerwood.com/node/3208|title=aGLIFF Polari 2012 Preview: Facing Mirrors|last=Nafus|first=Chale|date=3 October 2012|website=Slackerwood|language=en|access-date=15 March 2018}}

Plot

Rana and Adineh (Eddie), two people of different backgrounds and social class are brought together to share a cab ride. Rana, inexperienced, religious and bound by traditions, is forced to drive a cab in order to survive financially and support her family.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2011/film/reviews/facing-mirrors-1117945989/|title=Facing Mirrors|last=Scheib|first=Ronnie|date=7 September 2011|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=23 November 2019}} Adineh, wealthy yet rebellious, has escaped from their home and an upcoming arranged marriage. Together they share a cab ride.

In the middle of their journey in the cab, Rana realizes that her passenger Adineh is transgender, and is planning on having an operation. For Rana, comprehending and accepting such reality is difficult and equal to surpassing all she believes in and traditions she values.{{Cite web|url = http://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/films/facingmirrors|title = Facing Mirrors|website = The Film Collaborative|access-date = 1 April 2016}} Together they forge an unlikely friendship rooted in their newfound independence.

Cast

Homayoun Ershadi as Pedar
Shayesteh Irani as Adineh (Eddie)
Nima Shahrokh Shahi as Brother
Ghazal Shakeri as Rana{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/singing-amy-winehouse-in-tehran|title=Singing Amy Winehouse in Tehran|last=Wright|first=Robin|date=23 May 2014|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=15 March 2018|language=en|issn=0028-792X}}
Saber Abar as Sadegh (Saber Abbar)

Awards and nominations

At the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Shayesteh Irani was nominated for Best Performance.{{cite web |url=http://www.asiapacificscreenacademy.com/2011/10/nominees-list/|title=Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2011 }} The film was nominated to win Scythian Deer for Grand Prix and has been awarded the Special Mention Prize of the Ecumenical Jury for Feature Film at the Molodist International Film Festival.{{cite web |url=http://www.molodist.com/en/winners2011 |title=Molodist International Film Festival 2011 — the full list |access-date=26 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323165907/http://www.molodist.com/en/winners2011 |archive-date=23 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}

At San Francisco's Frameline Film Festival in 2012, Facing Mirrors received "Best First Feature" award for Negar Azarbayjani's first feature.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000585/2012|title=SF Frameline Film Festival 2012 winners|website=IMDb |date=2012|access-date=1 April 2016}} In the eighteenth edition of the LGBT film festival held in Paris, Negar Azarbayjani won the Grand Prix prize at Chéries-Chéris 2012. The film won against nine other competitors in the official selection.{{cite web|url=http://cheries-cheris.com/palmares2012.html|title=Chéries-Chéris 2012 PALMARÈS|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119003641/http://cheries-cheris.com/palmares2012.html|archive-date=19 January 2013}}