Sudabeh Mortezai
EUROPA
Austrija, 2022 97 min.
Beate is an ambitious executive working at EUROPA, a mysterious corporation looking to expand into the Balkans region. Seemingly promoting philanthropy and investment in underdeveloped areas, Europa actually needs to buy off lands from locals in a remote valley in Albania using Beate as the main negotiator for this ambiguous mission. But things don’t go as planned when she is challenged by Jetnor, a stubborn and spiritual farmer who refuses to leave the land of his ancestors.
Born in 1968 in Ludwigsburg, Germany, to Iranian parents, Sudabeh Mortezai grew up in Tehran and Vienna. She completed theater & film studies in Vienna and Los Angeles. Her feature debut MACONDO premiered in competition at the Berlinale 2014. Her second feature JOY premiered in Venice in 2018 and has received numerous international awards including Best Film at London Film Festival and the Etoile d’Or at Marrakech Film Festival.
