SIMPLE LITTLE LIVES
directed by Shoja Azari
A metaphor of the nightmare endured by rural communities left out of the American Dream.
FROM THE AWARD-WINNING DIRECTOR OF WOMEN WITHOUT MEN.
Tradition still abides in the ADK - the Adirondacks region of upstate New York - as nine friends gather for their annual all-night hog roast even as their community crumbles around them. But the arrival of Carter, a slick rock 'n' roller from the City, will expose the simmering tensions within the group and ignite deep rooted class conflicts.
DRAMA DCP/HD - 2016 - USA - 80min
ORIGINAL TITLE SIMPLE LITTLE LIVES
CAST Natalie Hall, Brock Harris, Kieran Campion, Christopher Sears, Rosie Benton, Paul Pilcz, JJ Condon, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Ashley Trawinski, Dylan Perlman
ORIGINAL LANGUAGE English
PRODUCED BY Azar Productions
DIRECTOR
Shoja Azari was born in Shiraz, Iran in 1953. As a teenager, Azari experimented with short films, and after the 1979 Islamic Revolution involved himself in underground culture – literature, theater, and politics. In his work, Azari confronts broad themes of gender, politics and piety, drawing inspiration from and re-interpreting religious icons.
While collaborating with Neshat on a wealth of film and video projects, Azari created experimental and art house films, including an adaptation of Franz Kafka’s work, called K (2000) and a series of short films, Windows (2005).
Windows premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, bringing him into the public eye. Azari and Neshat’s film Women Without Men won the Silver Lion for best director at the 2009 Venice Film Festival. Azari has since developed a style of “video paintings” that combine media to produce a unique three-dimensional effect.
Azari’s work has been exhibited globally, with solo shows throughout Europe and North America; his first solo show was at Leila Heller Gallery in 2010. Azari has participated in exhibitions at the Venice Biennale, at museums such as Germany’s Haus der Kulturen and the MUSAC in Spain, and at art fairs including Art Basel, Switzerland, ARCO, Spain, and Art Dubai. His works are in the permanent collections of various museums and foundations, including the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in the United States, and the Farjam Collection in the UAE. He lives and works in New York.