Iran’s official nomination to the 90th Academy Awards in the best foreign language category is the country's first ever nomination of a female director's work. “Nafas,” or “Breath,” written and directed by Narges Abyar, examines a tumultuous time in Iran through the eyes of a little girl.

On Sept. 19, a jury composed of nine film professionals nominated the film to represent Iran at the Oscars. Produced in 2015 and released in 2016, “Breath” combines animation and live action to depict the everyday life of a poor family living in Valadabad, a suburb of Karaj, during the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War.

"Breath" is the story of a curious and imaginative Iranian girl named Bahar who lives in her own world of dreams and fantasies during a time that is filled with political and social turmoil. An avid reader and dreamer, Bahar dreams of becoming a “doctor of breath” so she can treat her father’s asthma. Then the war starts.

“I’m not too scared of Iraqi planes, because even if they bomb us and I die, I can be a shortness of breath doctor for the dead and treat their illnesses,” says Bahar as she along with her father, sister, two brothers and grandmother take shelter in a basement. In earlier scenes, Bahar innocently talks about some of the most important political-historical events that have happened in Iran in the past 40 years, including the overthrow of Iran’s former ruler Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the return of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini from exile, the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the start of the Iran-Iraq War.