Free Screening Set at Triplex

Entertainment Desk

Saturday, February 28

GREAT BARRINGTON — The Berkshire International Film Festival and Triplex Cinema are presenting a free screening Sunday of the award-winning documentary film, "Arusi Persian Wedding."

The 11 a.m. screening is the opening event in the month-long Berkshire Women in the Arts festival, presented by The Women's Times. Complete festival information is available online at www.thewomenstimes.com/events.

Set against the turbulent relationship between the United States and Iran, Iranian-American filmmaker Marjan Tehrani's film captures the struggle and excitement of her brother, Alex, and his bride, Heather, as they plan a Persian Islamic wedding in Iran. But when Alex's Iranian-born parents and Heather's conservative American father meet for the first time, cultures clash and test the couple to their limits.

When the United States-based Tehranis are finally granted their Iranian passports, Alex, a photographer, and his American bride, Heather, an art gallery administrator, decide to make a trip from New York to Iran to have a Persian wedding — just as Alex's own Iranian father and American mother did in 1968, when Iran and the U.S. were still allies. But traveling to Iran is complicated. As the couple prepares to leave, they must face the mixed reactions of their parents and friends, reports of war in the Middle East, bureaucratic headaches and their own nerves.

In "Arusi Persian Wedding," Marjan accompanies Alex and Heather and documents their journey to Iran, preparations for the wedding in Tehran and the couple's explorations of the country en route to the wedding site.