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Never Move Backwards is an intimate portrait of an all female parkour troupe in Shiraz, Iran as they train for competition. The film explores themes of rebellion, youth, escapism, and counterculture set against the backdrop of Iran’s ever mutable cultural identity.

Synopsis

Never Move Backwards is an intimate portrait of an Iranian female parkour troupe in Shiraz, Iran. The team is captivated by the freedom and fluidity of their movements—the way they seem to defy gravity and transcend the limitations of their environment. Parkour represents everything she has been longing for: freedom, strength, and the courage to push beyond boundaries.

The film examines the dystopian feeling of coming of age, as one finds out what their limits are. Parkour is a visual representation of testing those limits, and I seek to understand what draws these women to a sport defined by a sense of fearlessness. Is it nihilism? Rebellion? Is it that they have no fear of death because they view of their lives with a bleak outlook? The film will explore themes of rebellion, youth, and counter culture set against the backdrop of Iran’s ever mutable cultural identity.

I am inspired by women practicing parkour in Iran by the sheer bravery and physical and mental strength it takes to do parkour. There are so many fears one must conquer to put yourself into the mindset of yes I can defy gravity. Women’s bodies themselves have long been a symbol of rebellion and often politicized.

Women’s bodies are forever under threat, making themselves smaller, but doing parkour is the antithesis of being small.
Parkour is about taking one’s own body and pushing its physical limits and becoming the strongest version of itself enough to soar over buildings and concrete. I’m interested in the sport being a transcendence of the body over the materiality of the physical space in which we reside.

Parkour represents a leap of faith, jumping into the unknown, the willingness to put oneself at risk for something greater.

Meet the Filmmakers

Alexandra Tahereh Kaucher — Director and Producer
Alexandra Tahereh Kaucher was born in 1989 – daughter of John Kaucher, an ex-pat American painter and Elham Khatibi, an ex-pat Iranian contrarian who met in Paris.

She studied European and Mediterranean studies at NYU. This segued into a career of Production Design and Costume Design for film. She has designed projects in India, Morocco, South Africa, Europe, and all across the US. Her recent Production Design work includes To Dust starring Matthew Broderick and Géza Röhrig, which won the audience award at the Tribeca film festival in New York.

She now directs and produces with her partner and collaborator on various short-form pieces, music videos, and art projects under the moniker Hiss. She has directed a dozen short form pieces for BBC storyworks in over various countries in multiple languages in addition to making various short video art pieces. Alexandra made Ad age’s The List Generation Next 2022 and the Commercial Director’s Diversity Program 2022.

Her directorial works have premiered at Cannes AVIFF, Milano Fashion Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, Aesthetica, Swedenborg film festival, and The Awareness Festival promoting sustainable and green futures. Her work has been published on Nowness, BOOOOOOOOM, Re/ Make, and Alpine Modern.

Her experimental video collage works Unrest in Iran, Utera, Haft Sin, & How to Cut a Pomegranate have shown at Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, The Holy Art Gallery, The New House Art Space & The Kato Wong gallery in London.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.