Inversion (film)

Inversion is a 2016 Iranian film directed by Behnam Behzadi. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot
At the age of 35, Niloofar lives alone with her mother in Teheran, but as air pollution grips the Iranian capital, her family decides to move her to the countryside for the matriarch's well-being, without her consent. Used to submitting to the demands of others, this time she decides to stand up to them.

Historical background
In November 2016, air pollution in Tehran was so bad that the authorities ordered schools to close and the most sensitive populations, such as children and the elderly, to stay at home. The film refers to the orders issued by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who, in response to the international sanctions imposed on Iran's nuclear program, ordered refineries to produce low-quality gasoline, in defiance of environmental standards. These measures led to the deadly smog that hit the country a few years later.

Director Behnam Behzadi uses the metaphor of unbreathable air to paint the portrait of a woman in struggle, in the midst of conquering her own space of freedom.