Surviving Paradise

Surviving Paradise is a 2001 American family adventure/drama film written and directed by Kamshad Kooshan. With three months of theatrical release in major theaters in Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area, it is considered to be the first English-language Iranian-American film distributed in the United States. This film is believed to be one of the first vehicles in introducing Shohreh Aghdashloo to Hollywood.

Surviving Paradise , فيلم سينمايي راز بهشت
Surviving Paradise, فيلم سينمايي راز بهشت movie poster
Directed byKamshad Kooshan
Produced byKamshad Kooshan
Bahman Maghsoudlou
Written byKamshad Kooshan
StarringShohreh Aghdashloo
Kian Abedini
Lauren Parissa Abedini
Joe Alvarez
Music byRichard Herrera Lopez
CinematographyPaul Mayne
Edited byRick LeCompte
Distributed byNew Light Entertainment LLC (US)
Release date
  • June 2000 (2000-06)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The story concerns the struggles of a newly-arrived Iranian brother and sister in the rough as well as better-off neighborhoods of Los Angeles.

Plot

When the 10-year-old boy Sam and his younger sister Sara arrived in Los Angeles with their mother, the only thing on their mind was to go to Disneyland. But things take a wrong turn when their mother is kidnapped by three armed members of the mafia. Realizing that the police can't find their uncle, their only relative in town at the time, these two helpless children take on the vast and unforgiving streets of Los Angeles to find him themselves. On their way they encounter a colorful cast of characters and frightening situations where their humanity and endurance are tested.

Cast
  • Shohreh Aghdashloo ..... Pari
  • Kian Abedini ..... Sam
  • Lauren Parissa Abedini ..... Sara
  • Joe Alvarez ..... Mr. F
  • David Jay Barry ..... Mr. A
  • David Wissak ..... Mr. Z
  • Otis Freeman ..... Lou
  • Vahik Pirhamzei ..... Mo

Critical reception

Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called the film "well-intended but awkward."[1] Mick LaSalle also panned Surviving Paradise in the San Francisco Chronicle, describing the film as exemplifying the worst aspects of both American and Iranian cinema, and calling it a "low-budget mess," "poorly made," "aimless," and "overly sentimental."[2] In the LA Weekly, Professor of Cinematic Arts Holly Willis called it "laughable," writing that it "proffers an astonishing array of cultural clichés in a flat-footed story."[3]

Awards and festivals
  • New York International Independent Film Festival (2001)
  • Sundance Screenwriter's Lab, semi-finalist 1997
  • Cairo International Film Festival (2000)
  • International Film Festival of India (2000)
  • San Francisco Parent/Teacher Association

References
  1. "'Surviving Paradise': Iranian Kids on the Loose". Los Angeles Times. 2000-06-30. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  2. Stack, Peter; Guthmann, Edward; LaSalle, Mick (2000-09-29). "FILM CLIPS / Also opening today". SFGate. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  3. "Film Search Results". 2001-07-07. Archived from the original on 2001-07-07. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
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