Land of Dreams
World premiere at the Biennale / Venice International Film Festival 2021
Written by: Jean-Claude Carrière, Shoja Azari
Directors: Shirin Neshat, Shoja Azari
roducers: Amir Hamz, Sol Tryon, Christian Springer
Executive Producers: Amir Neshat, Fahri Yardim
Cast: Sheila Vand, Matt Dillon, William Moseley, Anna Gunn, Christopher McDonald, Isabella Rossellini
In collaboration with BR and Arte
Funded by Doha Film Institute
Distributed by Vertical Entertainment (USA), W-film (Germany), among others
International sales by Beta Cinema (North America co-represented with UTA)
Simin, an Iranian American woman, is on a journey to discover the core of what it means to be a free American. She works for the most important government agency of her time, the Census Bureau. In efforts to understand and control its populous, the government has started a program to record the citizens' dreams. Simin, one of the Census Bureau's lead dream catchers, is unaware of this devious plot. She herself, being among the last immigrants allowed into the country, is torn between her appreciation for America's acceptance, compassion for those whose dreams she is recording, and a truth she must find within herself. Playful and poignant, "Land of Dreams" acknowledges in a surreal and satirical way the greatness of the American experiment while offering a warning beacon for what could come.