Directed by Babak Anvari Country Iran Director Babak Anvari | Running time 7 minutes Initial release 17 September 2011 Language Persian | |
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Produced by Babak Anvari
Kit Fraser Written by Babak Anvari
Gavin Cullen Cast Bijan Daneshmand, Pouyan Lotfi, Ravi Karimi Nominations BAFTA Award for Best Short Film Screenplay Babak Anvari, Gavin Cullen Similar A Girl Like Her, The Most Beautiful Thing, Under the Shadow, Pitch Black Heist, That Day After Everyday | ||
Two & Two is a 2011 short film directed by Babak Anvari, co-produced by Babak Anvari and Kit Fraser and written by Babak Anvari and Gavin Cullen. The short film, which runs for 7 minutes, stars a male teacher and twelve students in a grey wall classroom, showing the first lesson which is an expression of 2 + 2 = 5.
Contents
Plot
The film begins with a male entering a grey classroom with twelve schoolboys. Through the intercom, the headmaster announces that there will be ongoing changes in the school, and that the students are to listen to all instructions from their teacher. The teacher begins the lesson by writing "2 + 2 = 5" on the chalkboard. When the children protest, he immediately silences them, calling for order in the classroom. He then demands that the students repeat the equation after him, in order to imprint the message. One timid student raises his hand and suggests that two plus two is four, not five. The teacher immediately scolds him and tells him to sit back down. The teacher then orders the class to open their notebooks and begin copying down the expression. A student near the back of the classroom suddenly speaks up, audaciously stating that two plus two is four, not five. The teacher is instantly agitated and asks the student who gave him permission to speak. The student holds his ground, maintaining that two plus two is equal to four. Further attempts by the teacher to force the student to acknowledge that two plus two equals five fails. He then leaves the classroom and returns with three older students, bearing red armbands (reminiscent of Nazi armbands). The teacher asks the senior students for the solution to two plus two, and the three answer five in perfect union. The one rebellious student remains determined, and is called to the front of the room, where he is handed a piece of chalk to complete the equation, "2 + 2 = ". Clearly frustrated, the teacher tells the student that this is his last chance to give the correct answer. The three senior students suddenly raise their arms and point imaginary rifles at the boy against the board, as if preparing an execution. The boy, after some deliberation, bolding writes "4". The teacher gives a disappointed look, and gunfire is heard as blood splatters across the blackboard and the boy's body slumps to the ground. The rest of the class is silent, horrified at what they just witnessed. The senior students carry out the dead boy's body, and the teacher resumes his lesson. As the teacher continues to order the students to write down "2 + 2 = 5" in the notebooks, one student is seen scratching out "5" and replacing it with a careful "4".
Nominees
Two & Two was nominated for the 2011 BAFTA Film Awards for Best Short Film.