Leyla and her six-year-old daughter Nila live in the holy city of Mashhad in Iran. Nila is the result of a temporary marriage, which allows a man to marry a woman even if he is already married. Children born from such a relationship are legally non-existent. As long as the father does not recognize the child, no birth certificate can be issued and Nila cannot attend school. The documentary depicts Leyla's tireless efforts to clarify Nila's legal status in order to offer her a perspective for her future. In a never-ending bureaucratic battle, Leyla fights not only against the legal system, but also against a judgmental society.
Direction
Taghizadeh's patient observation builds crushing tension.
Production
Unprecedented access to Iran's opaque legal machinery.
Director
Niloufar Taghizadeh
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Temporary marriage (mut'ah) was banned in 1936, relegalized after 1979. Today thousands of Iranian children share Nila's legal limbo.
Director Taghizadeh filmed for three years; Leyla's case was still unresolved at premiere. Nila remains unregistered.
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