A Fox Under A Pink Moon

Feature - Vivien Vetriolo

“To play a game.’’ That is how Soraya refers to having a chance of escaping the country. A Fox Under A Pink Moon follows the story of Soraya, a young afghan woman who tries to immigrate to Europe. The documentary, directed by Mehrdad Oskouei, captures her heartbreaking journey through videos all taken by Soraya herself. Following her and being an emotional support is a fox, imagined under a pink moon.

Photo: IMDb

Warning: This feature will narrate about sensitive topics, such as physical and mental abuse.

Human Film Festival 2026

Oslo hosted the Human International Documentary Film Festival in the early days of March this year. It is Oslo’s largest documentary film festival focussing on topics about human rights, social issues and global topics. It featured norwegian and international documentaries with opportunities to talk to some directors after the premiere. The Festival is used as a discussion platform where filmmakers, activist and audiences interact. A Fox Under a Pink Moon was part of the Human Festival 2026, serving as the opening movie.

2019 - The First Game

The documentary captures Soraya throughout her journey within a span of five years, beginning with her live in Iran at the age of 16. In the first scenes she documents her family, consisting of her uncle and cousins. Her mother has previously travelled to Austria, leaving Soraya in Iran behind. The entire family is seeing packing after having received a call stating that a new opportunity for immigrating to Greece has risen. After a fight breaks out in the Van, which is supposed to drive them to the border, the driver leaves the forty individuals behind, resulting in Soraya and her family sleeping in the woods for a couple of nights before returning back home, being the first failed attempt.

Behind the Illusion of Love

“I married in hope of living in a better situation. It turned out to be so much worse.’’

Photo: IDFA Festival

Jump ahead of one or two years, Soraya is now a married woman. She and her husband Ali work as housekeepers in a hotel in Iran. What at the beginning might seem as a loving relationship, quickly turns out to be mentally and physically abusive. “Ali, do you love me?’’ “No.’’ is the short response of her husband. After being caught filming, Soraya is being hit by her husband. After showing herself on camera with visible blue spots all over her body, Soraya tells that her first time being hit was around the age of 7 by her uncle, which results in her suffering abuse in most part of her life.

AI Generated Image

Soraya and Ali get another call, another opportunity to flee the country. What might seem as a successful attempt, quickly turns out to be anything but. While being on the sea Soraya and the other refugees are being caught by the police, ending in a near-death experience. Soraya promises herself to train harder in order to be able to take the next difficult travel journey with more ease and resistance.

“I told you uncle, I would make it one day.’’

Shortly before her last attempt ‘‘to play a game’’ Soraya suffers a physical attack from her husband again, which results in her leaving him behind and taking this journey by herself. The movie ends in a hopeful note, showing Soraya finally crossing the border to Greece.

The Fox, The Clown and The Moon - Expressing Feelings throughout the Art

Throughout the movie Soraya shows a strong talent in artistic fields, sculpting her own statues. In the Question and Answer after the movie Soraya herself states that the art gave her hope in the most difficult of times. Residing now in Berlin, she still is an artist today.

Photo: Vivien Vetriolo / PRESSET.

Photo: Vivien Vetriolo / PRESSET.

Soraya is not the only one expressing her feeling throughout art. The director Mehrdad Oskouei used the artistic tool of animation in picturing a fox under a moon. “The fox is intelligent and I would like to think as myself somewhat like him. The moon on the other hand was a representation of my dreams. Whilst it shone on me daily, they were yet too far to reach.’’

Throughout the movie Oskouei uses different paintings of the clown. They are being shown as little snippets in between the different years. The motive of the clown was also a question asked by the audience. The fearsome and scary looking clown was the representation of Soraya’s own fears and sadness throughout the movie.

A Story To Tell

The 2025 winner of the Best Film Award is a deeply personal documentary about migration, abuse, art and resilience told through the eyes of a very young, very innocent teenage artist, who is trying to shape her own future. It’s unusual and particular directing of the scenes through animation, phone footage and drawings, made the movie stand out. The audience experience the story through Soraya’s perspective, which almost seems like a visual diary or self-portrait. This specific choice by the director makes the viewing even more personal for the viewer. When asked why it is important to make movies about abuse and migration. Oskouei states: “It is my mission to try and change the world.’’

After the movie - Reactions and Q&A

Needless to say that the movie left a strong oppressing feeling among the audience. The awareness that the story portrayed on screen was not fictional but a documentary about a young woman made the experience even more tangible and emotionally involving.

The movie was aired on three nights with a Q&A for Soraya Akhlaghi and Mehrdad Oskouei on the last night. Both Akhlaghi and Oskoeui were very welcoming and open to different questions, which they tried to answer with the outmost sincerity. Oskoeui narrated about the time he and Akhlagi saw the movie for the first time. For them it was an emotional rollercoaster as well, especially since Soraya’s mom was there to witness her daughters story on screen. Despite the heavy and difficult topic the Q&A was lighthearted and at times even funny. Akhlaghi and Oskoeui were forthcoming and did their best to brighten the mood.

The entire experience did leave a very strong impact within myself and the way to perceive the world. We grow up in a world in which we are very well aware of the horrors around us, and yet we don’t really understand them. The movie A Fox Under A Pink Moon truly pierces through your heart and leaves you thinking and appreciating the circumstances we live in.

It was a very inspirational story, especially since we got to experience Soraya and her positive attitude. She lives a happy life now in Berlin with her partner.

Photo: Vivien Vetriolo / PRESSET.

Photo taken at the Human International Film Festival 2026 Q&A, with Oskouei and Akhlaghi sitting on the right of the panel / Photo: Vivien Vetriolo / PRESSET.