CPH:DOX 2024 – Grand Me

Eight-year-old Melina lives with her loving grandparents in the Iranian city of Isfahan. Her parents have divorced and neither her mum nor her dad are able to take care of their daughter. Melina wants to live with her mum in Tehran, but neither her unpredictable father nor her new stepfather will allow it. But when the strong-willed girl turns nine, she comes of legal age and has an idea: She wants to start a custody battle. But her plans are challenged by the complicated realities of adult life. Director Atiye Zare Arandi is also Melina’s aunt, and their close relationship provides a unique insight into her life and thoughts. From scolding her mum in the car, to getting on her dad’s nerves on the phone, to putting nail polish on her good-natured grandfather. Conflicts, phone calls and children’s games weave in and out of each other in a film that constributes a fresh, contemporary perspective on the grand Iranian cinematic tradition of depicting the world of children and the incomprehensible reality of adults.