SCREEN DAILY - review - by Fionnuala Halligan - Top rated critic
VARIETY - Rafa Sales Ross
CINEUROPA
BUSINESS DOC EUROPE - review 1 2
MODERN TIME REVIEW - review (the European documentary magazine)
NRC (review high quality national newspaper)
DE GROENE AMSTERDAMMER (review high quality national weekly news and opinion magazine)
TROUW (review high quality national newspaper)
FILMKRANT (review of the biggest national film magazine)
DE DOCUPDATE (review of the documentary guide for the Netherlands and Belgium)
NPO RADIO 1, NIEUWS & CO - interview (starting at 01:10)
CINEVILLE FILM PODCAST - interview
‘Ambitious yet intimate, emotionally wide-ranging yet slight in physical scope, this tender documentary opened IDFA’s 35th edition in Amsterdam.’
‘this is about how a person can have left their true self behind, never to return.’
‘All You See is proof that the biggest of themes can be examined in the smallest of stories.’
‘An admirable formal daring accompanies this thoughtful personal statement’
‘a moving feature debut and IDFA opening film about the heaviness of gaze and the portrayal of cultural displacement’
‘An emotional and visually elegant documentary essay on exile and othering’
‘Stylistically bold and timeless’
‘particularly inspired choice and A strong opening film for IDFA’
‘It’s impressive how Padidar evokes a universal sense of the migrant’s experience without in any way sacrificing the individuality of her protagonists.’
‘All You See is a breath of fresh air. A window opening, a breaking of the silence.’
‘Padidar analyzed the powerful mechanism underlying tolerance: the practice of looking.’
‘Diversity and ambiguity are what make this intimate narrative particularly special.’
‘Niki Padidar broke up the silence. She revealed the power of the gaze as the medium of power.’
‘a tenderly shaped complaint, an elegant articulated grievance’
‘sentences as beautiful as poems’
‘Padidar stretches the documentary genre by mixing conversations with artsy and atmospheric images’
‘In All You See Niki Padidar skillfully shows the schizoid of new comers’ ****
‘An exceptionally elegant and refreshing depiction of a subject that torments humanity since we started walking up straight’
‘Enforces respect and admiration'
‘An important and visually powerful documentary’
‘Looking, being looked at, being seen, they are intangible but important subjects that Padidar addresses ánd depicts skilfully’
‘stimulating and refined film’
This is Sarina. She is 16. She lives in Iran. She speaks Farsi, English and French. She is a student and has just finished her exams. Let’s imagine the daily life of this smart and fashionable teenager. Sarina is not allowed to sing. Playing music and dancing in public is punishable by law. Having a pet dog is illegal and if you do have one, it will be taken away from you. Sarina has to wear whatever the government tells her to. And cover up from head to toe. She will be executed for being LGBTQ+. All the media, art, films and other creative or journalistic content is censored by the government. Internet is filtered and often taken down. Posting anything without a hijab will get her in prison. Sarina will get arrested if she goes on a date. If she practices any other religion than Islam she’s not allowed to go to college. She will be arrested if she drinks. Or if she’s at a party where there are boys. Even if it’s in the privacy of her own home. She is not allowed to ride a bike. If she speaks up against the government, she will be imprisoned, tortured or killed. She cant’ leave the country or stay at a hotel without the permission of a man.
Despite all this. Sarina loves painting, reading and has started vlogging this year. She has popular vlogs on YouTube on love, freedom, feminism and what teenagers love doing. As you know there has been a revolution going on in Iran. On September 22nd, after her English class ended at noon Sarina and some of her friends went to join the people’s protests to demonstrate peacefully for basic human rights. That afternoon Sarina got arrested and beaten to death by the regime’s security forces.
Since the beginning of the revolution, almost 2 months ago, more than 30 children have been killed by this regime. 7 year olds, 4 year olds, 10 year olds and 16 year olds like Sarina. It’s important to know that this is not Iran’s culture. Or Iran's heritage. Or Iran's history. This is not about religion either. This is a brutal, violent and dictatorial regime that has occupied Iran for the past 43 years. And all Iranian people want for a long time now is to get rid of this regime.
So If you have any power to write about this, make reports, artwork, films or talk to you politicians, the UN or anyone else that could make a difference… Please do so. Sarina and other grils and boys who are courageously still demonstrating in Iran right now despite this violence against them need us to help them stay safe and have a future where they can dance.
(This statement is part of Niki Padidar's speech at opening night IDFA on november 9th, 2022)