Donya, a 20-year-old Afghan refugee, works for a fortune cookie factory in San Francisco. A former translator for the US Army in Afghanistan, she has trouble sleeping and feels lonely. Her routine is disrupted when her boss assigns her to write messages and predictions to put in the cookies. Her desire awakens and she decides to send a special message in one of the cookies by letting fate take its course...

The movie's many close-ups and static shots make it a discreet and subtle drama reminiscent of 1940s Italian neo-realism. Iranian-British director Babak Jalali delivers a slow, meditative film with a touch of humor here and there.  

Anaita Well Zada plays Donya, who herself fled Afghanistan in 2021. It's certainly not her last performance, if we dare say so, if only because she effortlessly holds her own against Jeremy Allen White (The Bear), who plays an endearingly clumsy car mechanic.

DIRECTOR: BABAK JALALI; GENRE: DRAMA; WITH: ANAITA WALI ZADA, JEREMY ALLEN WHITE, GREGG TURKINGTON; 2024; USA; 1H28; ENGLISH, DARI, CANTONESE - SUBTITLES Dutch + French

AWARDS

Fremont won Best Director at Karlovy Vary and the Jury Prize at Deauville.

PRESS

“It’s the kind of independent film which we haven’t seen a lot of lately, endowed with intimacy and a kind of dreamy charm.” (THE GUARDIAN)