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The movie portrays solitude and isolation of Iranian immigrants in Europe, lifting the veil off of life in exile.

"The Emigrated Birds" is a 2012 Persian film written and directed by filmmaker and art photographer Shahram Qadir. The 90- minute movie tells the intriguing story of exiles in Europe in general and Sweden in particular, where the clash of cultures compels immigrants to inhabit a new form of life, Qadir explained to The Globe.

"The essential reason for producing the film was to portray what immigrants witness in exile and how they have to come face to face with a different culture that eventually obliges them to dwell in a new form of life," Qadir said.

The film follows the tale of young Iranians from different walks of life who leave their homelands for Sweden. The character Makan is a musician who used to play the daff (a traditional musical instrument) in Iran, but after he moves to Sweden, solitude and isolation encourages him to be a painter; he draws portraits that reflect his loneliness.

Nadja, another character, is a dance instructor who works desperately to maintain her career and promote it by engaging Eastern musical instruments in her classes; she hopes to seduce Makan into playing the daff once again.

Qadir says the film not only focuses on the social issues that immigrants face, but it also addresses their artistic lives.

The process of shooting the film began in mid 2011 in Sweden and wrapped up early in 2012. Some 50percent of the movie has already been edited."I hope we can finish editing soon so we can get it into theaters quickly," said Qadir.

Stockholm, Sweden, will see the film first; later, audiences in Erbil will get to view it. Qadir, who has already produced five short movies and two documentaries in his career, stated that making a film in Europe is not that easy in comparison to Kurdistan or Iran."Gathering a crew for such a project in Europe is complicated; for this film, some of the actors had to come from different countries."

He quipped that solitude further complicates the efforts of making films in Europe: "Inexile, immigrants get used to being alone due to isolation; therefore, it takes a lot to overcome this loneliness and gather a crew to produce a movie."