Nirvana became the voice of immigrant women

Tugce Celik

Nirvana stands out as an independent production named after its main character, a young Afghan woman. The narrative follows Nirvana, who flees the Taliban regime in Afghanistan with her newborn baby, as she navigates human traffickers, security forces, and countless other dangers to reach Europe , a destination she sees as a major attraction. Nirvana's story, as she struggles to survive, is based on a real-life story that reveals the often overlooked with all its striking clarity.

The film is directed and written by Mohsen Rabiei, a native of Iran, and stars Sadaf Noori, Seyed Asad Heydari, and Muhammed Cangören as diverse characters. The film , which tells the dramatic migration journey from Afghanistan to Iran, Turkey, and Bulgaria through the eyes of an Afghan woman, explores the challenges of migration, the burden of being a woman , and the reality of human trafficking with devastating language. Masterfully capturing a human tragedy, the film presents viewers not only as a migration story but also as a powerful expression of hope, resistance, and female solidarity.

We talked about Nirvana with the director and lead actor of the film.

Your life story is very similar to the main character's. How would you interpret it?

Sadaf Noori: When I read the script, I felt strange. I thought, "This is literally my life." You pretend to forget things for years, but you never really forget them. There were some scenes that moved me not while acting, but while experiencing them. The story was so similar to my own life. For example, she was forced to flee her homeland, unable to survive there, and unable to find a footing here. Some scenes reminded me of things I'd experienced before, as if reliving them over and over again. The character I played in the film was also trying to build a new life; she was constantly struggling and moving from her own country to other countries. She had a desire to go to Europe. I talked to myself in those scenes. Something exploded inside me. I can't say I acted; I can say I let it out. Because I've lived through things like that, and I still do. You can't talk about some things, so in that film, I spoke about the things I kept quiet about.

What is your status in Türkiye?

SN: I don't actually have any status. I mean, I don't have any identification or official status in this country. I don't have any papers, an ID card, or any official documents. I'm living on the edge of nothing. If someone asks, "Who is this girl?" I don't exist in the eyes of the state. I live with my family. Let's just say we're trying to survive by sticking together. A few months ago, we tried to flee the country as a family, full of hope, but they caught us at the border. They took us to a repatriation center. We stayed there for a while. Then they said, "We'll let you go on the condition that you go." But where should I go? I can't go back to Iran; we can never go back to Afghanistan. I can't stay here either. I'm literally living in a vacuum. At least they gave us an ID card in Iran. We were already in Iran before coming to Turkey. We went there as a family and lived there for a long time. There, they gave us an ID card, something like a residence permit. We could go to the hospital with it and do our official business. We had a document, so we could say, "We exist." Then we decided to come to Turkey. Actually, my real intention was Europe. I always thought so, I dreamed of it. I tried to go a few times, but it didn't work out; I couldn't. The road was closed, the money ran out, the police stopped me. But my brother was able to go to Europe. I tried to go there on my own a few times, but it didn't work out. My little brother got sick in Istanbul, and we took him to the emergency room. At the hospital, they asked for ID. We said, "No," but no hospital would accept him. We told them it was urgent, but they still refused. That day, we saw once again how difficult it was to have no official documentation, to live unofficially. I realized that even if you were sick or dying, without documentation, you were nothing.

What do your family and people around you think about you becoming an actor?

SN: My mother and father, in particular, have always been there for me. Without their support, I wouldn't have been this brave. They didn't judge me; they simply supported me without tiring me out. But the outside world... It's a completely different story. For some, acting is still unbecoming of a woman. Those around us, those we know, don't see it as a job or a profession; it's as if it's something shameful to them. My family gets calls from acquaintances and relatives: "We saw your daughter on TV. What's she doing? Why is she acting?" We'd already filmed a series. They talk as if I'd done something shameful. But they don't know that I didn't just act in those scenes; I fought for survival. With every scene I performed, I opened a window to millions of women, immigrants, and people whose voices were suppressed. They may not have understood me, they may have criticized me, but I will continue to tell my story. Because sometimes a single story resonates in someone's silent life. And one day, that echo will shatter the silence.

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THEY ARE unaware of what immigrants are experiencing

Why did you want to tell this story?

Mohsen Rabiei: My goal was to address the issue of illegal immigrants and the hardships they face. I wanted to show the difficulties women face during this challenging journey, and even the difficulties faced by women migrating with their children. In the film, a character migrates with her newborn child. Traveling to another country with a child under normal circumstances is incredibly difficult. These people walk for days without food or water, in harsh weather conditions, with their babies and children migrating illegally. How many people, how many children, die along the way? I also wanted to send a message to human rights groups. Because they are either unaware of most of these incidents or fail to grasp the seriousness of the situation. Hundreds of people migrate illegally to different countries every day. Of course, there are opportunists who make money this way; they're called "human traffickers," and that's the initial pain. They're just trying to find the most basic conditions to survive. Shelter is one of human rights, but they don't even have a home or a country to live in. Yet, they either die or suffer serious harm along the way. In fact, they sacrifice their lives for the right to live. I wanted to highlight this once again through a female character in the film's narrative. Imagine, a woman isn't even allowed to get an education in her country and is forced to leave her country to live like a normal person. In fact, she says this in one scene in the film: "I just want to live like a human being and go to school like a girl."

Did you receive any support?

MR: We collaborated with a producer in Norway on this project and covered the entire budget ourselves. This film is a Turkish-Norwegian co-production. We received no financial support from any other funds or sponsors, let alone any other institution. The film was shot with a crew of approximately 30 under extremely challenging conditions. Because it was an independent project, the entire team worked tirelessly. The shooting was challenging, as many scenes involved exteriors and dangerous locations.

Is there any real footage in the film?

MR: Yes, the film's ending and credits feature real footage of what the migrants endured during their difficult migration, and even the torture they endured. We wanted to include this real footage to demonstrate the seriousness and reality of this matter, even if it was painful to see. While the film's story takes place in Afghanistan, Turkey, Iran, and Bulgaria, most of the scenes were shot in Turkey. There are scenes shot in Iran, particularly the streets and avenues, and we used real Iranian footage for the general scenes. We wish we could have shot the film in Afghanistan, but under the current circumstances, that's out of the question.

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Nirvana won Best Film and Best Actor at the Amsterdam International Awards, Best Actor and Honorable Mention at the Red Movie Awards in France, and Best Screenplay at the Vancouver International Movie Awards in Canada.