The film Red Rose takes place in an apartment above the streets of Tehran just after the sham election of 2009 that kept Mahmoud Ahmedinijad in power. Supporters of Mousavi, the main competitor of Ahmedinijad took to the streets to protest the results. The Green Wave (or Sea Of Green/Green Revolution) was a key point in Iranian history when the people stood up and made their wishes for democracy known.

This movie does a great job of mixing a narrative film with found footage from the actual protests. Vasilis Koukalani plays the lead with a quiet kind of grace. When he’s visited by a group of young people escaping the police during the protests, it awakens something long since gone. One from the group, Sara, comes back to the apartment and the two carry on an affair as well as a lively debate about the need for change.

Director Sepideh Farsi delivers an interesting look at the way new mediums like twitter have given a voice to the voiceless. It’s also a good take on how the less-privileged are more willing to fight for equality than those with the advantage.

Red Rose plays the Chicago International Film Festival October 15th at 5:45pm, October 17th at 8:00pm and October 19th at 12:30pm. You can purchase tickets here.