“Flamingo’s birthday” - A Touching Reflection on the International Student Experience
But that’s exactly what we learned from a poignant short film created by our very own students — a film that brought more than a few tears to the audience’s eyes.
“Flamingo’s Birthday”, directed by Sepehr Iranpour, one of our Iranian students at the ILCF, was screened in the Jean-Paul amphitheatre on Thursday, April 17th. It tells the story of an Iranian international student spending his birthday alone, far from his family and friends back home in Iran.
Thanks to the moving performance of fellow Iranian student Pouya Pourkhalili, and a beautifully composed soundtrack by Mahbod Bakhtiari and Radmehr Karimi, the film offered a deeply emotional and insightful look into the psychological and social challenges faced by international students. Moving abroad is never easy, and this masterfully directed short film captured that reality with grace and sincerity.
Before the screening, the audience was welcomed with a short speech from our director, Franck Violet, followed by a brief presentation of the film and its inspiration by Sepehr Iranpour himself. After the screening, the film and its director received a heartfelt standing ovation.
Since the story revolves around a birthday, the ILCF team surprised the audience by bringing out apple tarts adorned with candles, wishing both Sepehr and Pouya a happy birthday. The tarts were then shared with the audience — composed mostly of ILCF students — many of whom saw their own experiences reflected in the film. This gesture of celebration was also a symbolic nod to all those students who have had to spend their birthdays far from loved ones.
Take a look below to see how the screening went. And if you’d like to learn more about Sepehr and the inspiration behind his short film, click here to read his interview with the ILCF!
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