Mohammad and the Matchmaker

Episode from the BBC series World Weddings, in which the 47-year-old, single HIV patient Mohammad looks for a bride. An explicative and interpreting voice-over accompanies the story. Mohammad's doctor and good friend Arasj introduce Mohammad to a 21-year-old widow, who has also been infected with HIV. She contracted the virus from her husband. Mohammad contracted the virus from a contaminated needle when he was still a heroin addict. Mohammad's frankness about his former addiction is quite unusual in Iran, despite its large number of addicts: he even shows the place in the park where he used to sleep. Arasj also speaks with a current addict, while the latter shoots up. We witness the first tête-à-tête between Mohammad and his potential fiancée ("Do you beat your wife?" "Never." "That's good."). After the chat, Arasj interviews both. She has problems with the age difference and his past addiction. Moreover, she is seriously depressed about her own future: "I either want to die in the next 4 or 5 years, or get cured." Mohammad also has his doubts. Later on, he meets a 33-year-old divorced woman via Narcotics Anonymous, the relief group for ex-addicts he attends. In Arasj's presence, they contract a 'provisional marriage' with a clergyman - which Mohammad celebrates by buying a new pair of sunglasses.