Tag: iran

Brutalism is back, baby!  Behold the mighty Winnipeg mortar arches, and thin veneer of snow that together form one of many visual motifs in Matthew Rankin's superbly dry dramedy Universal Language. A large part of the film's delights come from...

Mohammad Rasoulof's film 'grapples with mistrust and paranoia' in Iran.

Iranian filmmaker Nader Saeivar crafts a quietly intense narrative that intertwines personal and political conflicts, offering an exploration of power, repression, and resistance within the framework of contemporary Iranian society.

Iranian director Ali Ahmadzadeh clinched the main award with its psychedelic portrayal of Tehran's nocturnal wanderings.

Directed by Abbas Amini, the drama from Iran blends social melodrama and refugee thriller in an audience-driven narrative depicting a flight for freedom.

Scorsese's Film Foundation once again teams with Criterion for another round of newly restored films of global significance.

Directed by Houman Seyyedi, the wartime adventure is Iran's submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.

Before watching Hit the Road, I vaguely remember reading that it was Panah Panahi's debut. Upon finishing the film, I felt compelled to double check that it was indeed his debut. I could have blamed my bad memory; but I...

Long term readers of this site may recognize the name of Finland based Iranian martial artist Ramin Sohrab as this is not his first time in these pages. Sohrab has risen to global attention over the years through a series...

Directed by Asghar Farhadi, the prickly drama from Iran stars Amir Jadidi, Mohsen Tanabandeh, and Fereshteh Sadre Orafaiy.

Also: 'Monsters in the Closet' brings forth terrors, while 'American Gadfly' documents a surprising political candidate.

Iranian filmmakers Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha follow a widow's defiance in the shadow of the state's injustice in their latest socio-political drama.

Muted colour palettes, silent subject focus, and angled, alienating architecture -- I thought this would be a good week to highlight the work of Iranian designer, VFX artist, director and occasional didgeridoo player, Midia Kiasat. Below are three of his...

Iranian director Shahram Mokri, known for his single-shot films and his decided penchant for time-loops, achieves formalistic excellence in his latest effort.

Filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami returns to the roads of Iran on an exploratory quest about death and life.

Faced with losing his job and his family on the same day, a shady municipal officer in contemporay Tehran is forced to make some difficult choices in Blockage, Mohsen Gharaie’s gripping social drama.   Qasem (Hamed Behdad) is tasked with...

Blunt, angry and eye-opening, Tehran Taboo offers a scathing portrait of Iran’s largest city. Think of it as Short Cuts meets Persepolis, although that facile shorthand does not begin to get at just how much is going on, plot and...

The young Iranina helmer Ali Asgari depicts the conflict of young generation with traditions veiled as coming-of-age doubling as a mild social thriller

The latest video from Iranian/Finnish martial artist and filmmaker Ramin Sohrab has debuted and it's smoking. Our friends at Film Combat Syndicate debuted the video, along with this description: "Sohrab plays a man on his way to play his violin...

Farhadi has a real knack for portraying guilt of ordinary people. The degree of guilt he is showing might be a little too dramatic to pass as a real life. But that degree is small enough to make us uncomfortable. Deeply philosophical with human entanglements, culture, tradition, class and morality, The Salesman is a complex drama with a great narrative pull that is a richly rewarding experience.