MQ Artist-in-Residence Screening with FARIBA HAIDARI

02.12.2025, 18h | MQ Raum D
Free entry

MQ Artist-in-Residence Fariba Haidari, winner of last year's expanded shorts competition is giving insights in her work, followed by a screening.

The Scent of Dialogue (Fariba Haidari, SE 2021, OmeU) is a short fiction. It is about a young Afghan woman, Zahra, who has been living in Sweden for a few years. She wants to separate and have some space for herself to follow her dreams. Her biggest dream is to study — something she never had the chance to do because of her early marriage. She and her husband have been unable to have a child despite medical attempts. Now, her husband wants to try again with medical help to have a child and build a family life. Zahra doesn’t want that, but no one seems to understand her — except an elderly Swedish woman for whom Zahra works as a personal assistant.

Leila (Fariba Haidari, SE 2022, OmeU) is a short documentary.  This film is a poignant and moving glimpse into Leila's life in Afghanistan. She is a charming 64-year-old trans woman constantly navigating and negotiating her place in an antagonistic world, just before the Taliban regain control of Afghanistan. The film shows how she tried to be herself in her life. It is not easy, but she does not give up.

Filmstill "Leila" © Ginestra Film