The film Unveiled (2005) is classified as ‘accent cinema’ meaning that the film is about the voice or identity of the filmmaker and the style is specific enough that it falls under this category. Michele Aaron draws on and departs from the cross-dressing genre in queer films. In the film, Fariba is escaping Iran because she couldn’t be with her partner. After all, it’s illegal. She left as a woman and went back as a woman but her journey is a more complicated story.
When Fariba left Iran she was stuck in an airport facility that holds all the migrants, people looking for freedom, and people that don’t have their papers. There she met a man, Simak, who eventually took his life because his situation wasn’t great just like everyone there. After Simak took his life, Fariba took the chance to escape and took his clothes, she cut her hair and pretended to be him by looking like him. She even reached out to Simak’s family to make it as real as possible that he was still alive. I believe that because she had to dress like him and become Simak that this departs from the cross-dressing genre because she has to do it to get herself to freedom and start her new life. Her situation is life or death so since she took this as an opportunity to get to freedom I don’t believe that this aspect of the film falls under the cross-dressing genre. The film’s tone of migration and the reality of crossing the border adds to the fact that the film does depart from the cross-dressing genre.
As the film progresses Fariba meets a woman, Anne, who asks Fariba out on a date because she lost a dare by a friend. Eventually, feelings arose between both of them. When Fariba/Simak told Anne the truth their relationship became intense quickly. Because of this relationship, I believe that this contributes to the film falling under the cross-dressing genre. Another aspect of the film that draws on the cross-dressing genre is when Fariba was on the plane back to Iran as Fariba but as soon as the plan crosses the Iranian border Fariba goes to the restroom and dresses back into Simak. This not only gives the audience a cliffhanger if she will go back or if she truly does like and wants to dress like Simak and not do it because she has to.
