An autobiographical retelling of the pandemic, of the small struggles of modern life and of the difficulties of living in Canada as an Iranian woman.

February 2021 : global pandemic.
Shaghayegh, an Iranian woman who has been living in Montreal for five years now, is suddenly told to vacate the apartment she shares with her friend Ben and move into a hotel until so called security problems in the apartment building have been resolved.
Located on Ridgewood Avenue, the building has been sold to a company that wants to renovate and rent it out at higher prices, using aggressive methods to drive its tenants out. Most refuse to do so and unite to make a stand. For Shagha, whose French is iffy, the legal proceedings that follow prove grueling, complicated as they are by social distancing measures.
After fleeing an oppressive regime, she has slowly built a new life for herself, but now she finds herself in a highly unstable situation once more, which reawakens old anxieities and painful memories. Still, she finds comfort in a few things : drawing, Ben and his sturdy friendship, the warm atmosphere of the Iranian grocery where she works, the support of social workers and some neighbors, including one who teaches her that in French, Shaghayegh means "poppy."

In a tale weaving together past and present, Shaghayegh Moazzami describes the ordeals and little victories that have made her the woman she is today.