Maria De Los Angeles

The film is a behind-the-scenes look at the video installation “Tooba” (2002), by Shirin Neshat (Qazvin, Iran, 1957). The work was inspired by the novel “Women Without Men” by Shahrnush Parsipur, from which the artist drew material for her first film, which won the 2009 Leone d’Argento at the 66a Mostra del Cinema in Venice and was shown in a special premiere at Lo schermo dell’Arte in Florence. For months, the artist, the director and their collaborators wandered around Mexico, passing through villages around Oaxaca, searching for the “tree of paradise” and the work’s female protagonist. But no tree met expectations, and casting for the right actress proved arduous. After many discussions, long road trips and an endless series of failed attempts, the lone tree finally appeared and the troupe discovered Maria De Los Angeles. In a light, poetic manner, Shoja Azari tells the story of how the film was made, of the work done with the local population and the encounter with the extraordinary figure who incarnates the symbolic woman in Neshat’s video.