The Day I Became a Woman (2000)

This film tells the story of three Iranian women of different ages: 1) the little girl Hawa (Fatemeh Cherag Akhar) is about to celebrate her 9th birthday. After her birthday, she has to put on a veil and can't get in touch with the boys. With an hour to go before her birthday, she decides to spend her last time with her best friend; 2) A he (Shabnam Toloui) escapes her violent husband and takes part in a long-distance bike race with a group of female companions. Along the way, her relatives and friends come one after another to try to stop her rebellious behavior. 3) Old woman Hora (Azizeh Sedighi) goes on a shopping spree in a city and hires a group of children to carry, but she seems to have forgotten something. This film won the Best debut Award at the 2000 Chicago International Film Festival, the Sina Tide Award at the Busan International Film Festival in 2000, the second Discovery Award at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2000, and the Best debut Award at the Venice Film Festival in 2000.