ABOUT THE FILM

LOGLINE

Spurred by a provocative family memory and a lifetime of separation from the country her mother left behind, a young filmmaker delves into her mother and grandmother’s complicated pasts, and her own fractured Iranian identity.

LONG SYNOPSIS

Filmmaker Sierra Urich grew up in rural Vermont, a place and an upbringing far removed from Iran, the homeland of her mother, Mitra, and grandmother, Behjat. Only knowing Iran through family stories, food, and holidays, and with the prospect of travel to the country a seemingly impossible dream, she embarks on a personal quest to make sense of her fractured Iranian identity.

Navigating barriers of language and culture (not to mention the complications of geopolitical conflict and displacement), Sierra turns to Mitra and Behjat to construct a deeply moving and sometimes disarmingly funny portrait of three generations of women and their complex relationship to an Iran of the past.

Named for a Farsi term of endearment, JOONAM is infused with humor and heart like only a film about family could be. Interrogating family history and memory, including her grandmother’s experiences as a preteen bride and her mother’s rebellious teenage years during the Iranian Revolution, Sierra Urich constructs a rich, personal film that poignantly reflects the experiences of the Iranian diasporic community and speaks to anyone affected by the dislocation that accompanies immigration.

Director Sierra Urich

Producers Keith Wilson, Sierra Urich

Executive Producers Maida Lynn, Ruth Ann Harnisch, Bill Harnisch, Arian Moayed

Associate Producer Sasha Leitmann

Editor Sierra Urich

supervising editor Maya Daisy Hawke

Cinematographer Sierra Urich

Featuring Behjat Samimi, Mitra Samimi-Urich, Sierra Urich

FESTIVALS
2023: Sundance (World Premiere)

AWARDS
Nesnadny + Schwarz Documentary Competition Winner (Cleveland International)

AVAILABLE TERRITORIES
The World

EXHIBITION FORMATS
DCP, Digital Download