Special issue 30.9.-1.10.
Visions of Iran

Filmforum NRW/Museum Ludwig, Cologne

In a special autumn edition, “Visions of Iran” shows current, internationally awarded Iranian cinema. For example, Saied Roustayie’s gripping, star-studded family drama “Leila’s Brothers” about a family’s survival in the midst of an economic crisis. Or the animated film “La Sirene/The Siren”, which revisits the time of the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) – not a “war film”, but a poetic approach to the people of the port city of Abadan, home of filmmaker Sepideh Farsi.

The full program, with up-to-date information on the films and festival guests, can be found here starting next week, as well as on our social media channels.

Programme

Animation, Saturday, 30.9.2023, 18.00 hrs

The Siren (La Sirène)

1980: Abadan, the center of Iran’s oil industry in the south of the country, is besieged by Iraqi troops. People leave their city, only a few stay behind.

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Drama, Saturday, 30.9.2023, 20.30 hrs

Endless Borders (Marzhaye bi payan)

Ahmad, a teacher banned from teaching, has been transferred to a remote village in Baluchestan, southern Iran, on the border with Afghanistan; there he must report regularly to the probation officer in the nearby town.

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Drama, Sunday, 1.10.2023, 16.00 hrs

Empty Nets (Toor-haya khaali)

In order to raise the money to marry his beloved Narges, young Amir hires out to fishermen on the rough coast of the Caspian Sea. Gradually he wins respect and his place there, but soon he is drawn into the criminal milieu of illegal caviar poaching.

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Drama, Sunday, 1.10.2023, 19.00 hrs

Leila‘s Brothers (Baradarane Leyla)

Leila’s four adult brothers, unemployed and in debt, still live in their parents’ house. Forty-year-old Leila struggles to secure her siblings’ future by buying a store.

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