Iranian writer-director Shahab Fotouhi makes his debut with a new film about teenage romance, middle-aged divorce and quince jam.

By Siddhant Adlakha

Shahab Fotouhi’s debut film, “Boomerang,” is a delightful, surprising portrait of modern Iran, but the biggest surprise is that Fotouhi is in his forties. His is a voice that feels not only fresh but also under-heard. He paints metropolitan Tehran with youthful verve, capturing—through loosely connected stories, a few non sequiturs, and even a scene of magical realism—the vibes of the city at a moment of generational transition.

Of course, it still makes sense that Fotouhi grew up right after the Iranian revolution. Several of the film’s characters are middle-aged, and some of them — particularly the men — are struggling to let go of old ways of thinking, interacting and being. At the heart of “Boomerang,” however, are its female characters: a mother, Sima (Leili Rashidi), and her teenage daughter Minoo (Yas Farkhondeh), who rarely interact onscreen but whose overlapping stories speak to the country’s changing tides.