[1] A haunting portrait of stolen childhood, Starless Dreams plunges the viewer into the lives of seven young teenage girls sharing temporary quarters at a rehabilitation and correction center on the outskirts of Tehran.

23–30 November 2016. at the 4th Budapest International Documentary Festival, Hungary, 2018[7] The *Pare Lorentz Award* recognizes films that demonstrate exemplary filmmaking while focusing on the appropriate use of the natural environment, justice for all and the illumination of pressing social problems.

"[2] Kenigsperg from The New York Times said, "Although the movie bears some resemblance to the films made by Frederick Wiseman within institutions, the acknowledged presence of the director, Mehrdad Oskouei, creates a constant tension.

The girls — identified by first names or nicknames like 'Nobody' and '651' — show varying degrees of comfort with Mr. Oskouei's questions, some matter-of-factly discussing drugs or stabbings, and others seemingly reluctant to look toward the camera.

Yet 'Starless Dreams' suggests that the center's grounds, where the girls play in the snow or work in a greenhouse, are kinder than the world outside, and that release is a fraught prospect.

"[86] Kenji Fujishima from KINO SCOPE said, In some ways, Starless Dreams is a standard talking-heads documentary, with much of it made up of Oskouei’s interviews with the girls in the detention center as learns their histories and how they feel about their lives.

But he also alternates these intimate chats with more Frederick Wiseman-esque observational segments of the girls playing and interacting with authority figures and relatives.