Banned by Iranian authorities, THE CIRCLE unsettles with its unflinching depiction of the plight of 7 young Iranian women who are released from prison, where they were held for unexplained reasons.

At its centre are two women who have just been granted temporary leave from prison - the vulnerable Nargess and Arezou who, however impotently, tries to help her. At Nargess's request, Arezou accompanies her on an anxious venture back to Nargess' countryside hometown, but, to their despair, they discover little refuge. Meanwhile, another woman, Pari, who has escaped from prison in order to have an abortion, is confronted by her brothers who threaten to kill her if she doesn't have the baby. Helpless, Pari flees home and seeks shelter with a former inmate, who now works in a hospital, but, in her hour of need, Pari finds herself once again abandoned, without a sliver of support.

THE CIRCLE is a forthright film whose insights chill the senses as we watch women experience the devastating consequences of what it it means to be female and outside "the circle" in contemporary Iran.