Stand by Me

Netherlands / / 00:09:32 min

This film depicts the struggles of an American couple suffering from a medical condition and the way they deal with it, which has become internationally popular, attracting tourists from around the globe. The American couple's dream travel to Amsterdam becomes a test of their love and a journey of universal bittersweet favors. 'Stand by Me' empathizes with its American and global audiences through art, compassion, fun, and suffering, subtly weaving the urgency of the condition with romance and love in a global societal context.
Wednesday 20.8. 20:00
Block 7
Cafe Cup


Film maker
Parisa Zandbaf

Parisa Zandbaf was born in Tehran, Iran where her parents introduced her to classical music, performance, and Iranian cinema. With a BA from the University of Tehran (acceptance rate 10%), she moved to Europe to pursue a fully funded Erasmus Mundus Joint MA in Spain, The Netherlands, and Italy (acceptance rate 3%). Her interests in arts and philosophy led her to her Ph.D. studies in film aesthetics at the University of Amsterdam. Meanwhile, her independent films from fiction to documentaries and experimental reflect her global journey and academic insights. She has served as a jury member at the Amsterdam Independent Film Festival (2021) and the Changing Face International Film Festival (Sydney, Australia 2022), and as an academic judge on the art history and theory panel for the Global Undergraduate Awards, The Junior Noble Prize (Dublin, Ireland 2023). In 2023, she embarked on her second MA in Filmmaking in London fully funded by the Chevening scholarships (acceptance rate 1.9%). The Dutch-Iranian film director and Ph.D. candidate aims to continue transcending borders and provoking thought through her work.