British Council Logo UK Films Database
Project Detail

Empty Your Pockets

Synopsis

Hassan is a young airport customs officer who must secure an advance on his salary for his mother’s medication. As the dark side of his job becomes more clear, Hassan must decide what matters to him the most, and what cost he is willing to pay, navigating a totalitarian system.
Official Selection Black Star Film Festival BSFF 2024
Visit Film Website

Details

Year
2024
Type of project
Shorts
Running time
19 min 56 sec
Format
digital
Director
Tara Aghdashloo
Producer
Michelle Koerssen, Tara Aghdashloo
Co-Producer
Nedda Sarshar
Executive Producer
Sam Cryer, Harland Weiss, Caterina Jackman, Jason Aita, Sahar Yousefi, Isil Gilderdale, Emily Harris, Donovan Boden
Editor
Abolfazl Talooni
Screenwriter
Tara Aghdashloo
Director of Photography
Farhad Ghaderi
Production Designer
Hope Little
Sound
Ensieh Maleki
Composer
Peformativity Ltd.
Principal cast
Kiarash Dadgar, Amir Zavosh, Bahman Dadui, Armin Lou, Peyman Shariaty, Leyla Shamshiri, Nikta Atapour, Farshideh Nasrin, Toomaj Danesh Behzadi, Banafsheh Taherian

Genre

Human Rights Woman Director Comedy Drama

Categories

Fiction

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

OPC Productions and Intermission Films

Tara Aghdashloo

Sales Company

Festival Formula

Katie Bignell

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

Suggest amendments

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

The Ride The Ride

Director: Tara Aghdashloo

Year: 2022

When their car breaks down on the way back to London, a young couple hitch a ride with a lorry driver. The journey slowly reveals the cracks in their relationship as three worlds collide in unexpected ways.

Woman Director Drama
A muddied dishevelled man looks into the camera Kibera Hustle

Director: Janet Wells

Year: 2026

When his estranged half-brother is kidnapped in Kibera, a hapless British outsider plunges into Nairobi’s largest slum. Out of his depth and desperate, Steve teams up with Mshai, a streetwise hustler with plans of her own. As double-crosses mount and loyalties shift, Steve must decide whether he’s come to save his brother — or himself.

Action Drama Thriller
Maleek sits against a soft furnishing, wearing a cream knit top. He has a shaved head and beard, and his expression is contemplative and emotional. Natural light falls across his face. Between Realms

Director: Romaine Reid

Year: 2026

Guided through shifting realms shaped by memory, spirit and emotion, Maleek is forced to confront the unresolved wounds that continue to echo across generations. As reality blurs and time slips away, what begins as a search for connection becomes a journey of healing and transformation. Official Selection, S.O.U.L Festival 2026

Black Drama Fantasy Sci-Fi