Desiree Akhavan's 'Appropriate Behavior' Showcases Persian Lesbians

On January 16, Gravitas Ventures will release "Appropriate Behavior," a new film starring, written and directed by "Girls" star Desiree Akhavan. The film looks at the life of a Persian woman dealing with her bisexuality and her family.

"Audacious and funny and unique," said "Girls" creator and co-star Lena Dunham about the film.

For Shirin (Desiree Akhavan), being part of a perfect Persian family isn't easy. Acceptance eludes her from all sides: her family doesn't know she's bisexual, and her ex-girlfriend, Maxine (Rebecca Henderson), can't understand why she doesn't tell them. Even the six-year-old boys in her moviemaking class are too ADD to focus on her for more than a second.

Following a family announcement of her brother's betrothal to a parentally approved Iranian prize catch, Shirin embarks on a private rebellion involving a series of pansexual escapades, while trying to decipher what went wrong with Maxine. This all takes place against the backdrop of New York City.

Akhavan nabbed an Independent Spirit Award nominee for Best First Screenplay for her efforts.

Iranian-American filmmaker Akhavan is the co-creator and star of the award-winning web series "The Slope," a comedy that follows a pair of superficial homophobic lesbians in love. She was recently featured as one of Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New Faces of Film as well as Vanity Fair's "Persia in New York" featuring the vibrant scene of Iranian artists flourishing in America, centered in New York. Akhavan can be seen in January on the fourth season of HBO's "Girls."

The film opens this weekend at LA's Sundance Theatre, Atlanta's Plaza Atlantic Cinema, Cleveland's Shaker Square Cinema, Denver's Sie Film Center, Detroit's Cinema Detroit, Fort Lauderdale's Cinema Paradiso, Miami's Cosford Cinema, New York's IFC Center and Nitehawk Theatre, San Francisco's The Roxi, Seattle's Sundance Theatre, Toronto's Carlton and Washington's West End Cinema.