In her feature film debut, artist Shirin Neshat chronicles the intertwining lives of four Iranian women during the summer of 1953, a cataclysmic moment in Iranian history when an American-led, British backed coup d'etat brought down the democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammad Mossadegh, and reinstalled the Shah to power. Adapted from Iranian author Shahrnush Parsipur's magic realist novel of the same name, Neshat explores the social, political, and psychological dimensions of her characters as they meet in a metaphorical garden, where they can exist and reflect while the complex intellectual and religious forces shaping their world linger in the air around them. Looking at Iran from Neshat's point of view allows us to see the larger picture and realise that the human community resembles different organs of one body, created from a common essence. This film won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2009.

Shirin Neshat is one of the most well-known contemporary artists to emerge from Iran. She was born in Qazvin, one of the country's most religious cities, and is presently based in New York. Her photography and video installations are well known for their hauntingly beautiful explorations of Islam, political violence, gender relations and the human form. Her works also draw upon her personal experience as an artist in exile. Shirin Neshat's work has won awards and critical notice, including the photographic series Women of Allah (1993-1997), the video installation trilogy Turbulent (1998, winner of the Golden Lion at the 48th Venice Biennale in 1999), Rapture (1999), and Fervor (2000). Neshat's work has been exhibited at the Tate Gallery in London, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Serpentine Gallery in London, the Kunsthalle Wien and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Hiroshima. In 2006, Neshat was awarded the Gish Prize.