Overview
Begging (working subtitle: The Silent Horizon) is a proof-of-concept teaser for Reihaneh Youzbashi Dizaji’s planned feature: a 100-minute refugee drama she intends to shoot over 35 days. The teaser runs 07:50, delivered at 2.39:1. Following an unaccompanied 15-year-old girl, Soha, and a young man, Wali, who becomes her protector after she’s assaulted by smugglers during the journey west, the film is drawn directly from the director’s own family history of fleeing Iran via the Balkan route.
Per the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung’s funding page, the teaser was produced with support from “Freundinnen und Freunde der Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung,” shot 10-11 May 2025 in Berlin, with the express goals of securing financing and generating interest from funding institutions ahead of a planned 2027 theatrical release for the full feature.
Production
Shot at Berliner Bäder-Betriebe’s Stadtbad Lichtenberg, a disused public swimming hall standing in for the story’s abandoned diving hall refuge. Given the sensitive content (the story involves a sexual assault), the production brought in FAIR PLAY, facilitated by co-initiator Christine von Fragstein at the director’s request, to run a warm-up and establish a Code of Conduct with the cast and crew before shooting began.
Post Production
Colour grade by Mark Esper, working (as on Tage Und Nächte) from a set of ShotDeck references tied to timecoded notes the director provided.
Festivals & Awards
- Official Selection: 2026 ARFF Barcelona // International Film Festival
- Semi-Finalist: 2026 ARFF Amsterdam // International Film Festival
- Special screening, Zoo Palast (Screen 1), Berlin, part of a curated public showcase of Berlin short films organised by director Johannes Al Daimi
