Going Up the Stairs: A Portrait of an Unlikely Iranian Artist

The first sight of Akram, an elderly Iranian woman, clad in a black chador, provides little clue that her internal world is literally bursting with riotous, glorious colour.

After discovering painting at age 50, while helping her grandson with his homework, Akram’s talent would not be stemmed nor slowed. Married at age eight to a man some 20 years her senior, Akram’s life as a traditional Iranian woman centred upon her house, husband and children. Initially, she painted when her husband was out, and hid her work under an upstairs carpet. The biggest surprise is the paintings themselves, large-scale canvases, peopled with fabulous and fantastical creatures -- peacocks, reluctant bridegrooms, and weeping women -- are all thickly laid on in thick impasto textures of vivid colour. When her paintings were discovered, her children organized an exhibition of her work in Paris, but before she can attend her own show, she must first gain her husband’s permission. 

Winner at the prestigious Sheffield Doc/Fest, director Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami's Going Up the Stairs captures the transformation of this singular artist with humour, warmth and a startling amount of joy.  

“Truly a masterpiece…” – VOX Magazine

For information about the film, visit the film distributor's website: www.filmstransit.com