Young Afghan Donya (Anaita Wali Zada) worked as a translator for the US military in Kabul until she was forced to flee to Fremont in northern California after the Taliban takeover. Plagued by guilt and insomnia, triggered by the thoughts of the family she left behind, she spends her days between monotonous work in a cookie fortune factory, weekly therapy sessions with a pro-bono therapist (Gregg Turkington) and the loneliness of her small apartment. When the writer of the fortune cookie messages dies on the job, Donya takes her chance and, in search of a meaningful connection, mixes a piece of paper with her phone number into the fortune cookies.

Babak Jalali’s FREMONT is a decelerated mix of immigration drama and comedy with dust-dry humor and a subtle critique of the “American Dream.“ Jalali captures this sadness which rules over Donya’s life in beautiful black and white images and skillfully plays with the compositions in the 4:3 image format. His style is clearly reminiscent of Jim Jarmusch’s work, but doesn’t feel like a copy. The film limits itself to a short, almost conflict-free part of Donya’s life which feels like the first act of a more classic romance yet gives a complete impression into the emotional world of the protagonist. FREMONT doesn’t center Donya’s escape or problems with xenophobia or integration, it depicts people with longings and emotions. Interpersonal encounters are real and human, but feel as though they’ve been filmed through Donya’s insomnia, as if every sentence, every act is enveloped by a veil of tiredness.

Lukas Hoffmann

Translation: Elinor Lewy