Desert Dancer Trailer

Afshin Ghaffarian was severely punished at school in Iran for expressing himself through dance in the classroom. When his mother warns him that dance is forbidden by law and that he should keep his talent secret, he discovers an unauthorised dance group at the Saba Arts Center. In his later years, he informs his friends of his desire to begin his own dance group and though they are sceptical at first given the severity of the country's laws, they eventually agree to join him and help him set up an underground secret space to practise. Eventually, tired of the confined space they have built themselves, they take to the apparently isolated desert in order to practise for a stage performance, but it isn't long before the military police get wind of the group and they are forced to cover their tracks.

'Desert Dancer' is the forthcoming biopic drama based on the real life of inspirational dancer Afshin Ghaffarian. Directed by Richard Raymond in his directorial feature debut and written by Jon Croker (The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death), the film features routines created by choreographer Akram Khan and has already been nominated for the Golden Frog award at the 2014 Camerimage Awards. The film will be released in the US on April 10th 2015.