A Simple Event is Sohrab Shahid Saless′ first feature film. He made it with the budget of a short film. Shahid Saless shot every scene in one take and made a feature in two weeks. At that time he was young (27 years-old) and unknown. When the film was screened, it took everyone by surprise and awe. The Bresssonian style of the film, the simplicity of the story and set-up, the quiet poetic moments, the brilliant performances of the locals he employed as actors, the non-dramatic realistic long takes, and minimal usage of music and sound effects deeply touched the audience and critics. The film observes the isolated daily life of eleven year-old Mohammad in Bandarshah, a remote northern town of Iran. A Simple Event established a menu of scenes that were later used by many filmmakers, especially those dealing with children. The film liberated many them from the burden of the plot and sub-plot structure of conventional narrative filmmaking. It persuaded them to rely more, on the processes of routine life that are then broken or challenged by A Simple Event. As Saless himself said about the film, this is a story without beginning or an end-just a slice of life with no action or adventure. (Amir Naderi)