Ten

Ten (; appears as 10 during the opening credits) is a 2002 Iranian docufiction film starring Mania Akbari and Amina Maher. It was released with Abbas Kiarostami credited as the director; however, his role in the film and the source of the footage have been disputed by Akbari since 2020. The film premiered May 20, 2002 at the 55th Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or. It received positive reviews from film critics. Due to its discussion of discrimination against women, Ten was banned in Iran. The film's two lead actresses have made calls for the distributor to stop screening it, over allegations of plagiarism and abuse by Kiarostami. Plot The film is divided into ten scenes, each of which depict a conversation between an unchanging female driver (played by Mania Akbari) and a variety of passengers as she drives around Tehran. Her passengers include her young son Amin (played by Akbari's real life child, Amina Maher), her sister, a bride, a sex worker, and a woman on her way to prayer. The first vignette of the film is a conversation between Amin and his mother, as he is being driven to the local pool. Over the course of their conversation, the driver raises her voice to him and tensions escalate as he yells over her. It is revealed that, due to the limited rights women are given the court system, the driver obtained a divorce from her ex-husband, by falsely telling the court he was a drug addict. After their conversation erupts into a fight, Amin abruptly exits the car.