Iranian martial artist is star at Sundance

The arduous journey of the first woman to represent Iran at the Olympics has been brought to life in a documentary being screened at the Sundance Film Festival.

Fatima Geza Abdollahyan's film, Kick In Iran, follows taekwondo fighter Sara Khoshjamal as she prepares to take part in the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing and strike a blow for female athletes in her male-dominated homeland.

Although Khoshjamal's exploits were widely reported in Iran, Abdollahyan said she was prompted to make the film after discovering many Iranians were not aware of what hurdles the athlete had overcome to reach Beijing.

"My first thought was maybe that I can tell a story about Iran and about Iranian society," Abdollahyan said.

"Khoshjamal and her coach have to pay a higher price for what they want to do," the director said.

At the heart of the documentary is the relationship between Khoshjamal and her female coach, Maryam Azarmehr.

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