These Voices Are Real follows a woman spending an ordinary day with her little daughter while waiting for the result of a medical test. As they move through public spaces, the woman records and sends voice messages to an unseen man, entering a world she is not fully certain about. At the same time, the child quietly observes, listens, and imitates. Voices from the adult world reach her through headphones, gradually blurring the boundary between play, curiosity, and exposure. What appears to be a routine day slowly reveals a moment of decision, a woman’s first step into an uncertain territory, and the subtle emergence of femininity through observation rather than instruction.
Original Title In Sedaha Vagheist Year of production 2026 Length 11' CountryIran Shooting Format 4k Aspect Ratio 2.39:1 Dialogue Persian
Director Baran Nikrah Producers Baran Nikrah, Hoda Zeinolabedin Writer Baran Nikrah Cinematographer Farshad Mohammadi Production DesignerMohsen Shah Ebrahimi EditorHamid Najafirad Sound Recordist Mehdi Ebrahimzadeh Sound Designer Hosein Abolsedgh Costume Designer Sara Khaledi Makeup Artist Abbas Abbasi Cast Hoda Zeinolabedin, Dorrin Afsharian
Festival selections Minimalen Short Film Festival 2026, Norway- World Premiere, Special Mention (International Competition), Audience Award, Raskin Spirit Festival Award
Director's Statement These Voices Are Real is a film about a decision that has not yet been made, but already inhabits the body through sound. The film follows a woman’s first encounter with entering a world she does not fully trust, alongside a child’s earliest attention to femininity. I was interested in what happens before certainty—how voices, instructions, and mediated communication quietly shape bodies and boundaries. The adult world in this film mostly exists as sound, while the child’s world remains visual and silent. The doll becomes a parallel body, reflecting how intimacy, control, and exposure are unconsciously transmitted from one generation to the next. Rather than offering judgment, the film observes how contemporary forms of communication redefine intimacy, especially for those who are listening but not yet able to speak.
