FREMONT

Shot in misty black-and-white and co-scripted by Jalali and Carolina Cavalli with a straight-faced sense of humour, Fremont is a quasi-comedy that strikes a vibe akin to the films of Jim Jarmusch. The biggest achievement of Jalali here is the precise tone that he strikes with his mild-mannered movie: never cutesy (an especially impressive feat considering the film’s whimsically Sundance-y premise) and always several feet deeper in its themes and deliberations around human isolation than meets the eye.

The script (co-written by Jalali) is especially sharp when it comes to examining the ways that refugees get pigeon-holed as saints or sinners. After being told that Afghans “seem nice, friendly people”, Donya replies, “We are, I’m just not a good example”.

With her chunky cheekbones and cooly appraising eyes, Zada often resembles the young Scarlett Johansson. A former journalist and refugee, she’s never had an acting lesson in her life, which makes you wonder why people waste money on drama school. Her off-kilter naturalness is awesome, most obviously in her scenes with Jeremy Allen White (as Daniel, a jangled, James Dean-ish mechanic).

Film Facts

• Anaita Wali Zada escaped from Afghanistan in 2021 when the Taliban started taking over.
• Fremont won the John Cassavetes Award in 2024 and was nominated at the British Independent Film Award.