In 1984, over two million Afghans fled to Iran to escape the Soviet-Afghan War. Among them, one family embarked on a unique journey: searching for a missing teenage son. Dream of Grape Gardens follows the intertwined stories of a mother and daughter, each on individual journeys marked by unspoken words.
Status
Development
About the Filmmakers
Director/Producer
Sahra Mani
SAHRA MANI is a multiple award-winning filmmaker. She earned her master's degree in documentary filmmaking from the University of Arts London. Her work as a director and photographer focuses on human rights, equality, and justice. As a former lecturer at Kabul University, she organized several film festivals and provided training and mentoring. Sahra has served as a jury member for several film festivals and competitions, including the international photo competition on global health and gender at UCL in 2019, Movies that Matter in 2020, Fribourg Film Festival in 2022, and the Asian Film Festival in Barcelona in 2021. Her latest film, Bread and Roses, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023 and has recently been released on Apple TV. Her full-length documentary film, A Thousand Girls like Me, has been screened at numerous film festivals, including HotDocs, Sheffield, IDFA, and the NY Human Rights Film Festival. It has received recognition worldwide, winning over 25 awards. Sahra received the 2023 Hope Award for her work as a visionary filmmaker and creator of content that educates, encourages, and inspires the advancement of equality and justice for women in Afghanistan at Cannes Film Festival.
Producer
Maéva Savinien
MAÉVA SAVINIEN began her career in Paris in 2011 at Kidam as a production assistant. She then spent a few months in Los Angeles at Voltage Pictures before flying to Shanghai, where she spent 7 years producing documentaries for major French TV channels as well as commercials and animation videos. In 2018, she worked as Line Producer on the feature film Minuscules 2, the mandibles from far away. In 2019, upon her return to France, she joined Urban Factory where she produced several films including The Shameless by Konstantin Bojanov (Cannes 2024, Un Certain Regard, UCR Award for Best Actress for Anasuya Sengupta), If Only I Could Hibernate by Zoljargal Purevdash (Cannes 2023, Un Certain Regard), Plan 75 by Chie Hayakawa (Cannes 2022, Un Certain Regard, Special Mention Camera d’Or), Ghosts of the Sea by Virginia Tangvald and Sima’s Song by Roya Sadat.