In this sequel to Abbas Kiarostami’s “Ten”, Mania Akbari, the leading actress of the film, again drives a car and talks to her son, her sister and other people. Her situation in this sequel differs because Mania is suffering from cancer. As the disease progresses she’s unable to drive. So she sits in the back of the car and the conversation continues. She becomes weaker through her illness and unlike “Ten”, the camera for “10 + 4” has to follow her wherever she goes. This is a totally new experience in which the director is being directed by her cancer in the process of making the film.
Mania Akbari began her artistic career as a painter in 1991, starting in the world of cinema as a director of photography and, later, as an assistant director of documentaries. In 2002, she starred in Abbas Kiarostami’s Ten, one of the most prestigious films in Iranian cinema, and in 2003 co-directed the documentary Crystal. In 2004 she started a series entitled 6 Video Arts, and the next year directed, wrote and starred in her first feature film, 20 Fingers, winner of a prize at the Venice Festival digital film competition.