70-year-old Mahin (Lili Farhadpour) lives alone in Tehran since her husband’s death and her daughter’s departure for Europe, until an afternoon tea with friends leads her to break her solitary routine and revitalise her love life. But as Mahin opens herself up to new romance with Faramarz (Esmaeel Mehrabi), what begins as an unexpected encounter quickly evolves into an unpredictable, unforgettable evening.

Winning the Berlinale’s FIPRESCI Prize and Ecumenical Jury Prize, My Favourite Cake is warm, charming and incisive in its depiction of older women’s inner lives – but it also breaks several entrenched Iranian cinematic taboos. Its subversiveness is such that writer/directors Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha (Ballad of a White Cow) were unable to accept their awards in person. The bubble of intimacy the film defiantly creates for Mahin and Faramarz may be even more precious because it’s so precarious.

"The film takes place at a time when Iranian women have moved to the front lines of the fight for social change and are attempting to tear down the walls of these outdated and fossilised beliefs." Maryam Moghaddam & Behtash Sanaeeha