By: debbie lynn elias
One of my favorite eye-opening documentaries in the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival is THE IRAN JOB. Kevin Sheppard was an American pro basketball player before offers in the US dried up, didn’t make the NBA and wanted to keep playing ball. Enter Iran and its Iranian Super League and upstart young team A.S. Shiraz. Yes. Iran. Already having had a good experience playing pro ball in Israel, Sheppard had no qualms about heading to Iran. Offered a lucrative contract to travel to Iran and play basketball, there is, however, one hitch. Sheppard, one of only two non-Iranians on the team (the other an engaging 7 foot tall Serbian and Sheppard’s roommate, Zoran) must guide the team to a playoff berth in its first season of play – something that has never been done before in the Iranian Super League.
With neither the team nor the coach speaking any English and Sheppard speaking no Farsi, can sport alone help to bridge the cultural and political gaps between our countries?
Directed by Till Schauder, more than meeting the charismatic Kevin Sheppard and seeing his infectious smile and humor infiltrate even the toughest and most American-hating of Iranians, are the slices of Iranian life to which we are privy. More than interesting, and opening up a line for great discourse and dialogue for any film-goer, is our meeting three Iranian women whom Kevin befriends. Hilda, a physical therapist who treats sports injuries and who is the Shiraz team physiotherapist; Elahah, a wannabe actress who served not only as a translator and driver for Kevin but was very obviously was attracted to him (but he not to her. His fiancé at home in the US Virgin Islands had nothing to worry about); and Laleh, an outspoken activist within Iran who champions rights for women and democracy.
Although THE IRAN JOB is supposed to be about Kevin Sheppard being an American fish-out-of-water in Iran, it goes well beyond that, serving to provide the Western world some unvarnished truths of Iranian oppression, be it political, societal or as it pertains to women. More than interesting to watch, especially given the surreptitious nature of filming much of what we see on screen, THE IRAN JOB is a Must See Festival Film not only for film lovers, but for anyone wanting to have their eyes and ears opened to the world.
Making its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film festival, THE IRAN JOB is not only a “Must See Festival Film”, but a “Must See” film for the world.
