Deep Breath (2003)

'Deep Breath' is an Iranian urban slacker movie that follows the meanderings and random vandalism of two listless and alienated twenty-somethings from opposite ends of the social spectrum. Kamran, a college student, and Mansour, a petty thief, are from opposite ends of the social spectrum. Cool and carefree, they steal cars, snatch cell phones, smoke joints and drive aimlessly. When the boys pick up a hitchhiker, a chatty student named Ayda, her dynamic presence begins to rouse them from their terminal ennui. Punctuated with beautiful imagery and comic moments, Shahbazi paints a sympathetic yet unsparing picture of disaffected Iranian youth. Wry and bittersweet, Deep Breath is not to be missed. The film was shown at the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes Film Festival to great success. Among other accolades it won a FIPRESCI award at Pusan and the Jury special award at Turin as well as the Best Film award at the Belgrade Author Festival.