A Fox Under a Pink Moon opens HUMAN 2026 with visit from Directors
HUMAN International Documentary Film Festival is pleased to announce this year’s opening film: A Fox Under a Pink Moon – a gripping and visually distinctive documentary about escape, courage and creativity.
A Fox Under a Pink Moon
Iran, France, Great Britain, USA, Denmark / 2025 / 76 min
Directors: Mehrdad Oskouei, Soraya Akhalaghi
Main character and co-director Soraya Akhalaghi, and director Mehrdad Oskouei will be present during the opening and participate in a conversation with the audience after the film. The audience will thus have a rare opportunity to meet the inspiring director duo. The strong-willed Afghan 16-year-old Soraya has been trying to flee Iran for five years to reunite with her mother in Austria. Through artwork made from materials she finds on the escape route, she expresses her fears, hopes and dreams. In imaginative animation sequences, the audience gets to get up close and personal with Soraya’s inner life and creative universe. She filmed the escape attempts herself, and in this textured self-portrait we get an intimate insight into this tough girl’s highly relevant everyday life as a refugee.
– This is a fantastically impressive film about a topic we constantly need to remember: Human rights cannot only apply to some, they must apply to absolutely everyone; there are no other alternatives. Refugees are often in very vulnerable positions with no protection. We must protect them and their legitimate desire to live dignified and free lives, says program manager Kari Nøst Hegseth.
The film was created through a unique collaboration: Soraya Akhalaghi has filmed the entire story herself, and through external contact with co-director Mehrdad Oskouei, they have together created an intimate and strong portrait of a young girl in an extreme life situation – and a film that reflects some of the most pressing questions of our time.
– Young Soraya’s enormously fascinating art gives the film an extra dimension and elevates the film experience to a higher level. It is a film that touches us deeply, and at the same time challenges us to see our time with new eyes, says Hegseth.
