The Salesman’s Shahab Hosseini headlines FFA winner The Oasis of Now

Hamy Ramezan’s feature debut stood out among eight fiction works in progress pitched at the annual Finnish industry event, sidebar to the Helsinki International Film Festival.

Multi-awarded for his short films Listen and Keys of Heaven, Ramezan’s The Oasis of Now is inspired by his own experience as a refugee who arrived with his family in Finland in 1990. 

The coming of age drama follows Ramin Mehdipour (13) of Iranian origin, who is enjoying a perfect summer in a small Finnish town before starting a new school. The Finnish Immigration Service has turned down his family’s application for asylum, but they continue their everyday lives, fuelled by their exceptionally positive outlook and attitude. 

The jury of the FFA Best Project Award consisting of Stine Bomholt-Hansen (LevelK), Tom Abell (Peccadillo Pictures ) and Gyda Velvin Myklebust (New Nordic Films-Norwegian International Film Festival) said: “The sensitivity in the portrayal of the boy and his family is delicate and emotionally balanced. This project really touched us. The film has impressive visual style and presents a rising talent in director Hamy Ramezan. Its universal themes have the potential to speak to audiences all over the world.”

Producers Jussi Rantamäki and Emilia Haukka of Aamu Film Company (The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki) revealed in Helsinki that Iranian star actor Shahab Hosseini (Best Actor in Cannes 2016 for Asghar Farhadi’s The Salesman and in Berlin 2011 for A Separation) has been cast in the main adult role. 

The film co-produced with Iran’s Three Garden Films started filming in August. Nordisk Film will handle the domestic distribution, set for September 2020. The FFA €3,000 Best project cash prize will go towards the film’s international marketing.  

The project had won earlier the Screen International Best Pitch Award at Tallinn’s Baltic Event 2018.