FREMONT
Afghan refugee Donya lives in Fremont but works at a fortune cookie factory in San Francisco. Seeking connection, she decides to send a message out to the world through a cookie in this offbeat vision of the universal longing for home.
SYNOPSIS
Each morning Donya (Anaita Wali Zada) leaves her tight-knit community of Afghan immigrants in Fremont, California. She crosses the Bay to work at a family-run fortune cookie factory in San Francisco. Donya drifts through her routine, struggling to connect with the culture and people of her new, unfamiliar surroundings while processing complicated feelings about her past as a translator for the U.S. government in Afghanistan. Unable to sleep, she finagles her way into a regular slot with a therapist (Gregg Turkington) who grasps for prospective role models. When an unexpected promotion at work thrusts Donya into the position to write her own story, she communicates her loneliness and longing through a concise medium: the fortunes inside each cookie. Donya’s koans travel, making a humble social impact and expanding her world far beyond Fremont and her turbulent past, including an encounter with a quiet auto mechanic (Jeremy Allen White) who could stand to see his own world expanded. Tenderly sculpted and lyrically shot in black-and-white, Babak Jalali’s FREMONT is a wry, deadpan vision of the universal longing for home.
Director
WITH
Anaita Wali Zada, Jeremy Allen White, Gregg Turkington
Run Time
1 hour, 31 minutes
Released
August 25, 2023
Distributed by
Music Box Films
HEARING AND VISUAL ASSISTANCE
Assisted Listening
Closed Captioning
Country
United States
SUBTITLES
Some Dari and Cantonese with English Subtitles
NOT RATED
Many of the films shown at The Ross are not rated due to the prohibitive cost of acquiring a rating from the Motion Picture Association of America. Consequently, as many of these films contain graphic content, viewer discretion is advised.
SHOWINGS
OCT 20 | FRI
5:00 p.m.
OCT 21 | SAT
5:00, 7:00, 9:00 p.m.
OCT 22 | SUN
5:00, 7:00 p.m.
OCT 23 | MON
5:00 p.m.
OCT 24 | TUE
5:00 p.m.
OCT 25 | WED
5:00 p.m.
OCT 26 | THU
7:15 p.m.
OCT 27 | FRI
5:00 p.m.
OCT 28 | SAT
1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00, 9:00 p.m.
OCT 29 | SUN
1:00, 5:15, 7:15 p.m.
OCT 30 | MON
5:00, 7:00 p.m.
OCT 31 | TUE
5:00 p.m.
NOV 1 | WED
5:00 p.m.
NOV 2 | THU
5:00, 7:00 p.m.
REVIEWS
“The potency of Fremont sneaks up on you. You go in reluctant and even skeptical, and come out wondering how and why you’re moved to tears.”
“A drama with a spare, wry tone that belies its earnest and ample substance.”
“A stunning mood piece that takes pride in its stillness and slow pace, ultimately delivering a tale of intimacy, searching, and quiet strength.”