*Iran*

Amir leads a lonely life. With his dog for sole company, he drives through the underworld of Tehran, dealing drugs of all kinds and healing troubles souls like a modern prophet. He navigates the city streets aimlessly, following the directions of his GPS while getting high to escape a town with no future. And yet, [...]

Night in Tehran. A daydreaming cab driver falls in love with a woman he can’t have, leading to a series of encounters, filled with mystery and fantasy. Around the World in 14 Films 2022 Credits +++ German Premiere +++ OT: Tasavor Director: Ali Behrad Screenplay: Ali Behrad Country: Iran 2022 Production: Ghabe Asemanjavad Noruzbegin [...]

A chaotic, tender family is on a road trip across the rugged landscape, but to where? Dad has a broken leg, but is it really broken? Mom tries to laugh when she’s not holding back tears. The youngest son keeps exploding into choreographed car karaoke. And all of them are fussing over the sick dog. [...]

Forty years ago, during the uprising to overthrow the Shah’s regime in Iran, protestors set fire to movie theatres as a way of showing opposition to Western culture. Many cinemas were burned down. In one tragic case, a theatre was set on fire with four hundred people inside, most of whom were burned alive. Now, [...]

“The famous actress Behnaz Jafari has no idea what to do when she receives a video in which a young girl is begging for help after her family did not allow her to study at Tehran Theatrical University. Behnaz abandons her shoot and turns to the director Jafar Panahi so that they can help the [...]

“In his sixth feature, clandestinely shot in the north of the country, Iranian helmer-writer Mohammad Rasoulof returns to the theme that underlies all of his work: the means by which an authoritarian regime succeeds in silencing independent voices. A tense, enraging drama about corruption and injustice, set in a small village. The essence of the [...]

“Returning to film in his native Iran after the French interlude of “The Past“, Asghar Farhadi continues his exploration of the dark side of the soul, using a traumatic assault to trigger a young husband’s uncontrollable thirst for revenge. (…) When the final punches are delivered in a knock-out finale that leaves the viewer tense [...]

“A humdrum but quietly affecting character study chronicling everyday sexism in today's Iran, “Paradise” introduces a promising new writer-director from the country in Sina Ataeian Dena. World-premiering in competition at Locarno, this implicitly feminist study of a disaffected 25-year-old schoolteacher has picked up the Ecumenical Prize and was runner-up for the Best First Feature award. [...]