A Life-or-Death Decision Among Friends, in “Hamster”

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Watch “Hamster.”

Fatima Nofely’s short film begins with a group of young people, relaxed and raucous, enjoying a night together. It’s a small group, just a handful of friends, but the atmosphere is that of a party: string lights, a campfire, plenty of singing and jokes. The next morning, two of the partygoers, Mahi and Pouya, are making breakfast and reviewing the night’s events when they realize that there’s been a terrible accident. They’re faced with a choice: call first responders or leave the scene and avoid being connected to the incident. Their dilemma is further complicated by the fact that the friends are Iranian, and the young women involved could face severe consequences if it were found that they were at the party without their families’ permission. The film highlights the tension of young people straddling a cultural divide: embracing elements of a secular life style while still being steered by traditional values. For Nofely, the moral quandary at the center of the film was deeply personal.

“Years ago, I lost a group of friends to carbon-monoxide poisoning at a villa after a late-night party. Some of the girls in that group had attended the party without their families’ knowledge. In traditional and conservative Iranian families, daughters often face many restrictions,” the filmmaker told The New Yorker. A particularly painful part of Nofely’s experience was that the father of one of the girls who had been at the party without permission and who later died refused to accept her body. The incident stayed with Nofely. “I realized that, while cultural norms and prejudices aim to prevent mistakes and wrongdoing, the fear of those norms and protecting one’s reputation can sometimes lead to even greater tragedies,” she wrote.

The scripted film builds on Nofely’s real-life experience, adding an additional layer of tension and complexity. The morning after the party, Mahi is presented with a tragedy and a life-or-death decision. “Every night before making the film ‘Hamster,’ I asked myself what I would do if I were in Mahi’s shoes,” Nofely wrote. She never knew for certain how she would handle the choice, only that such moments are when our true nature is revealed.

Sourse: newyorker.com