Grand Me
Since her parents' bitter divorce, eight-year-old Melina has been living with her loving grandparents in Isfahan. But sweet as they are, Melina would rather live with her mother Atefeh in Tehran. But Atefeh's new husband is not very keen on this. Neither does Melina's unpredictable father have any intention of taking care of her. However, the determined Melina has no intention of resigning herself to this; on the day she turns nine, she decides to take her parents to court to have the judge decide who should take care of her. However, Melina soon discovers that the adult world is much more complex than she thought.
In this documentary, filmmaker Atiye Zare Arandi not only shows the crushing impact of divorce, it also shows how children's perceptions relate to the values and norms prevailing in a traditional country like Iran. She does so with nuance and love, which is hardly surprising: Arandi is Melina's aunt.
