Where the Walls Breathe follows a queer migrant as he drifts between reality, fantasy, nightmares, and psychological unrest. Moving through the tension between love and alienation, he struggles to perform as a “productive man” within both society and an unraveling relationship. The film lingers in silence and disorientation—where domestic spaces become uncanny, and the boundaries of self begin to blur.

Shot in collaboration with artist Shuhan Liu, my focus as Director of Photography was on capturing the fragile atmosphere between presence and disappearance, using light and movement as emotional textures rather than pure form.

The film was later screened during the Groninger Filmdagen Festival & Film Forum Noordand, and at The Pink Cube, Groningen.

Fun fact: the film was originally titled Bye Masculinity.

Credits
Writer & Director — Khashayar Najafizadeh

Directors of Photography — Shuhan Liu & Amina El Khatib
Editor — Hossein Tavakoli & Khashayar Najafizadeh
Colorist — Abolfazl Abesht
Choreographer — Tina Nekouei
Sound Designer — Parsa Asheghan
Costume Designer — Bianca Huisman
Production Coordinators — Mahsa Hosseini, Anna Musikhina, Sadaf Khani, Moojan Payami

Cast
Pooya Dolati
Tina Nekouei
Ingmar Van der Meulen
David Lamain
Amina El Khatib

Producer — Khashayar Najafizadeh
Language — English, Persian
Subtitles — English | Dutch
Duration — 19:21