''Desert Dancer'' is a 2014 British

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Richard Raymond and written by Jon Croker. Starring

Reece Ritchie Reece Ritchie (born 23 July 1986) is an English actor. He is known for his film roles, such as Moha in ''10,000 BC'' (2008), Bis in '' Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'' (2010), and Iolaus in ''Hercules'' (2014). He starred as Jay in the Bri ...

and

Freida Pinto Freida Selena Pinto (born 18 October 1984) is an Indian actress who has appeared mainly in American and British films. Born and raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra, she resolved at a young age to become an actress. As a student at St. Xavier's Colle ...

, the film is based on the true story of

Afshin Ghaffarian Afshin Ghaffarian ( fa, افشین غفاریان, ; born 1986 in Mashhad) is an Iranian choreographer, director, dancer, and actor, participating primarily with the group "Reformances". ''Desert Dancer'' is a 2014 movie inspired by his life. Gha ...

, a young, self-taught dancer in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, who risked his life for his dream to become a dancer despite a nationwide dancing ban.

Plot

Set in Iran, the story follows the ambition of

. During the volatile climate of the 2009 presidential election, Afshin and some friends (including Elaheh played by Freida Pinto) risk their lives and form an underground dance company. The group learned the dancing from videos of Michael Jackson, Gene Kelly and

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...

even though the online videos are banned. Afshin and Elaheh also learn much from each other and learned how to embrace their passion for dance and for one another.

Cast

** Joshan Ertan as voice of young Afshin *

as Elaheh *

Nazanin Boniadi Nazanin Boniadi (; fa, نازنین بنیادی, ; born 22 May 1980) is an Iranian-British actress and activist. Born in Tehran and raised in London, she went to university in the United States, where she landed her first major acting role as ...

as Parisa Ghaffarian *

Tom Cullen Thomas Cullen (born 17 July 1985) is a Welsh actor and director. He had roles in the independent film '' Weekend'' (2011), as Anthony Foyle, Viscount Gillingham in the television series ''Downton Abbey'', and as Sir Landry in the historical d ...

as Ardavan *

Marama Corlett Marama Corlett is a Maltese actress and dancer, best known for her roles as Aki in '' Blood Drive'', Ruby in '' Sick of It'' and Corporal Angua in '' The Watch''. Early life and family Corlett was born and raised in Malta as one of four sister ...

as Mona *

Simon Kassianides Simon Mario Kassianides is an English actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Early life Kassianides was born in London, of Greek Cypriot origin, the son of Helen and Mario Kassianides, both business owners. Kassianides has an older b ...

as Sattar *

Akin Gazi Akin Gazi (born 15 October 1981) is a British actor. Life and career Gazi was born in North London, in 1981, to Turkish Cypriot parents. He attended Queen Mary, University of London studying English and Drama graduating in 2003. He is married ...

as Farid Ghaffarian *

Tolga Safer Tolga Safer (born 26 June 1982) is a British actor who is known for playing Igor Karkaroff's Aide in the movie version of ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire''. Life and career Safer was born in London, to Turkish Cypriot parents. He start ...

as Stephano *

Makram Khoury Makram Jamil Khoury (Arabic:, مكرم يعقوب خوري}, he, מכרם חורי) is an Arab-Israeli actor, born 30 May 1945 in Jerusalem. He was the youngest artist and the first Arab to win the Israel Prize, the highest civic honor in Israe ...

as Mehdi

Production

Richard Raymond makes his full-length film directorial debut working with acclaimed choreographer Akram Khan, whose work featured in the Olympic opening ceremony at London 2012. Raymond produced the film through his May 13 Films banner.

undertook an intensive training schedule for the role that comprised eight hours of dance rehearsals every day for 14 weeks. Photo call for the film was held at the Palais des Festivals during the third day of the 65th annual Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France on Friday May 18, 2012.

Relativity Media Relativity Media is an American media company founded in 2004 by Lynwood Spinks and Ryan Kavanaugh. The company brokered film finance deals and later branched into film production and other entertainment ventures. The company was commercially s ...

acquired North America distribution rights to the film at 2013

American Film Market The American Film Market (AFM) is a film industry event held each year in early November. Historically, more than 7,000 people attend the eight-day annual event to network and to sell, finance and acquire films. Participants come from more than ...

Release

''Desert Dancer'' premiered in Germany on July 3, 2014. It opened the Ischia Global Film and Music Fest in

Ischia Ischia ( , , ) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about from Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal in shape, it measures approximately east to west ...

, Italy on July 13, 2014. The film premiered in Hong Kong on August 28, 2014 and in the United States on April 10, 2015.

Reception

The film received a mixed reception from critics. , the film holds a approval rating on the review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on reviews with an average score of . The website's critics consensus reads: "''Desert Dancer'' never finds an agreeable rhythm, resulting in a musical drama that doesn't deliver on the promised spectacle or political commentary."

References

External links

* * * *
''Desert Dancer'' at Starland.pro

''Desert Dancer''
a
Publikart.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desert Dancer 2014 films English-language Emirati films English-language Romanian films English-language Moroccan films 2014 biographical drama films British biographical drama films Emirati biographical films Emirati drama films Romanian biographical drama films Moroccan drama films 2010s dance films Films set in Iran Films set in 2009 Films shot in London Films shot in Morocco Films shot in Paris Films scored by Benjamin Wallfisch Relativity Media films British dance films 2014 drama films Biographical films about dancers 2010s English-language films 2010s British films