21 Weeks Later

Short Synopsis:
A young woman decides to have an abortion in pursuit of her women’s rights regarding the right time for pregnancy. While her husband disagrees and threatens her, she has made her decision and illegally aborts her fetus after twenty-one weeks of pregnancy.
She wants to bury the fetus to diminish her own guilty feeling, so she wanders around the city looking for a suitable burial place. She faces some problems and finally loses her purse and the hidden fetus inside it due to the theft of her bag.

Director Statement :
In today’s world, the issue of women’s body, the pregnancy and the important issue of abortion has been influenced by the power of men and the policies of governments in patriarchal societies like Iran. Thus this has caused women to have no rights over their own bodies, and due to Islamic religion and special rituals, abortion after a period of soul formation in the fetus is considered as a sin and it is heinous crime. Accordingly, as a female activist in the field of social work and women’s studies, I determined the most important mission of my artistic and social career to address the important problems of women society, especially in the patriarchal society, which are often ignored. My interest in cinema to reflect women’s concerns comes from the fact that I believe that cinema is a tool to make women aware of their rights, and at the same time, it is a threat to the government’s neglect of women’s empowerment. Cinema can also show the problems of different groups of women, reflect women’s voices in society, and subsequently increase attention to these issues. Therefore, making films in the field of women is one of the priorities in my life so that I can play my role as a woman in supporting women.

Director’s Biography :

Nasrin Mohammadpour was born in 1989 in Mashhad – Iran, studied cinema, sociology and feminism studies, filmmaker, socalworker and researcher in the field of social harms of women and children

My goal of making films on the topic of women’s social harms is to help and inform women through the universal language of cinema

In the three short films that I produced, child marriage, the lack of empowerment of female heads of the household, and abortion, I pay special attention and focus.

Director’s Filmography:
Zohal/Short Fiction/7min/2020
Left Handed/Short Fiction/15min/2021
21 weeks later/Short Fiction/13min/2023

Categories: Drama