Fremont (2023)

Synopsis

It follows Donya, a young woman from Afghanistan who previously worked as a translator for US troops and has since moved to Fremont, California.

Her humdrum life takes a turn when she gets a job writing the fortunes at a fortune cookie factory.

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in the NEXT section on January 20, 2023 and screened at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival.



Cast: Anaita Wali Zada, Gregg Turkington, Jeremy Allen White, Hilda Schmelling, Avis See-tho, Siddique Ahmed, Taban Ibraz, Timur Nusratty, Eddie Tang, Jennifer McKay, Divya Jakatdar, Fazil Seddiqui, Molly Noble, Enoch Ku, Sich Liu

Produced by: Marjaneh Moghimi, Sudnya Shroff, Rachael Fung, George Rush, Chris Martin, Laura Wagner
Cinematography: Laura Valladao
Edited by: Babak Jalali
Music by: Mahmood Schricker


The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2023. It was released in theaters on August 25, 2023.

Reviewing the film for Variety, Tomris Laffry wrote, "The biggest achievement of Jalali here is the precise tone that he strikes with his mild-mannered movie: never cutesy...and always several feet deeper in its themes and deliberations around human isolation than meets the eye. Communicating with expressively wide-set eyes and the resolute gaze of someone who always knows and observes more than they admit, Zada's performance helps achieve the film's tricky balance...As the film's wistful lead, Zada gives the minor-key impression of an intriguing personality worth getting to know better and, who knows, maybe even solve the mysteries of the universe together."

Laffry concluded, "In its final moments, the potency of Fremont sneaks up on you. You go in reluctant and even skeptical, and come out wondering how and why you're moved to tears."

Read about this film

Country: United States
Language: English | Dari | Cantonese
Color: Black and White
Runtime: 91 min.