Ten is a 2002

2002 in film

The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...

 Iranian film

Cinema of Iran

The cinema of Iran is a flourishing film industry with a long history. Many popular commercial films are annually made in Iran, and Iranian art films win praise around the world....

 directed by Abbas Kiarostami

Abbas Kiarostami

Abbas Kiarostami is an internationally acclaimed Iranian film director, screenwriter, photographer and film producer. An active filmmaker since 1970, Kiarostami has been involved in over forty films, including shorts and documentaries...

 and starring Mania Akbari

Mania Akbari

Mania Akbari is an Iranian film director. Akbari began her artistic career as a painter in 1991. She entered the world of cinema as a director of photography and later as an assistant director of documentaries. In 2002, she starred in Abbas Kiarostami’s Ten and in 2003 co-directed the documentary...

. It was nominated for the Palme d'Or

Palme d'Or

The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...

 at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival

2002 Cannes Film Festival

The 2002 Cannes Film Festival started on 15 May and ran until 26 May. The Palme d'Or went to the Polish-French-German-British co-produced film The Pianist directed by Roman Polanski.-Jury:* David Lynch * Sharon Stone* Michelle Yeoh...

 and ranks at number 447 on Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.

Plot

It is divided into ten scenes, each of which depict a conversation between an unchanging female driver (played by Mania Akbari) and a variety of passengers as she drives around Tehran

Tehran

Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...

. Her passengers include her young son (played by Akbari's real life son, Amin Maher), her sister, a bride, a prostitute, and a woman on her way to prayer. One of the major plots during the film is the driver's divorce from her (barely seen) husband, and the conflict that this causes between mother and son.

Film details

Many of the cast were untrained as actors, and the film has an improvisatory element. Elements of the characters were based on the actual life of the main actress and her son. The film was recorded on two digital cameras, one attached to each side of a moving car, showing the driver and passenger respectively.

The film explores personal social problems arising in Iranian society, particularly the problems of women.

Trivia

• Ranked #47 in Empire
  Empire (magazine)
  Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
  
  magazines "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.

External links

• Daniel Ross
  Daniel Ross (Australian philosopher and filmmaker)
  Daniel Ross is an Australian philosopher and filmmaker, best known as the author of and the co-director of the film The Ister...
  
  , Review of Geoff Andrew, 10