The Day I Became a Woman
Skip to main content

The Day I Became a Woman

Marziyeh Meshkini, The Day I Became a Woman, 2000. Photo courtesy Photofest.

“This film takes a look at the lives of women who are segregated in the home, not because they are hated, but rather because they are loved.” —Marzieh Meshkini

“A masterwork of symbolic cinema; it depicts, with vast imagination, the ordeals faced by women in modern Iranian society.” —New Yorker

The first feature from Marzieh Meshkini illustrates defiant moments and turning points in the lives of three women pushing traditional gender boundaries in modern Iran. Kava, on the cusp of her ninth birthday, negotiates to savor the final hour of childhood. Ahoo defies tradition and coercion in a bicycle race to freedom. Financially self-reliant Hoora buys the items of convenience she has always wanted and sets up her ideal home. This 35mm print of The Day I Became a Woman is a recent acquisition for the Ruben/Bentson Moving Image Collection. 2000, Iran, 35mm, in Farsi with English subtitles, 80 min.

Presented as part of a trio of films by celebrated female Iranian directors Marzieh Meshkini and Rakhshan Bani-Etemad. Together, they represent the directors’ authentic perspectives as women in modern Iranian society.

Free tickets available at the Main Lobby desk from 6 pm.

Target Free Thursday Nights sponsored by

  • Target logo
  • Major support to preserve, digitize, and present the Ruben/Bentson Moving Image Collection is generously provided by the Bentson Foundation.