Project Detail
Marriage Test
© Field Day Films - Photographer: Joseph Spencer
Synopsis
Set in a mosque waiting room in 1980s South Wales, and inspired by the true story of writer-director Sara Nourizadeh's parents, a young couple whose relationship crossed boundaries of culture, faith and expectation.
At a time when Iranian politics dominated UK headlines and shaped public attitudes, a Welsh woman and her Iranian fiancé prepare for an Islamic conversion ceremony – a requirement they must fulfil if they are to marry. What follows is a quietly charged and emotionally intimate portrait of two people trying to navigate a moment that is both deeply personal and subtly political. As they wait for the ceremony to begin, small details – a trembling hand, a whispered joke, a fleeting moment of doubt – reveal the emotional stakes beneath the surface. Their conversation dances between humour and tension, affection and uncertainty, reflecting the push and pull of family pressures, cultural misunderstandings, and their own hopes for the future.
Authentic VHS archive footage of the real couple is interwoven within this scripted drama, grounding the film in lived experience and offering an unexpectedly tender glimpse into the decades that followed.
At a time when Iranian politics dominated UK headlines and shaped public attitudes, a Welsh woman and her Iranian fiancé prepare for an Islamic conversion ceremony – a requirement they must fulfil if they are to marry. What follows is a quietly charged and emotionally intimate portrait of two people trying to navigate a moment that is both deeply personal and subtly political. As they wait for the ceremony to begin, small details – a trembling hand, a whispered joke, a fleeting moment of doubt – reveal the emotional stakes beneath the surface. Their conversation dances between humour and tension, affection and uncertainty, reflecting the push and pull of family pressures, cultural misunderstandings, and their own hopes for the future.
Authentic VHS archive footage of the real couple is interwoven within this scripted drama, grounding the film in lived experience and offering an unexpectedly tender glimpse into the decades that followed.
Details
- Year
- 2026
- Type of project
- Shorts
- Running time
- 11 min 58 sec
- Format
- ARRI Alexa Mini LF
- Director
-
Sara Nourizadeh
- Producer
- Roxy Amini
- Executive Producer
- Alice Lusher, Matthew Barry, Ali Mashayekhi, Jessica Cobham-Dineen
- Editor
- Andy Sowerby
- Screenwriter
- Sara Nourizadeh
- Director of Photography
- Markus Ilschner
- Production Designer
- Rana Fadavi
- Sound
- Nick Sounidis
- Composer
- Marcin Mazurek
- Principal cast
- Arian Nik, Poppy Lee Friar
Genre
Categories
Production Status
Production Company
Supported by BFI NETWORK, Ffilm Cymru Wales
Field Day Films Ltd
Roxy AminiPage updates
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