TEHRAN – Iranian director Masud Bakhshi’s movie “Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness” will be screened at the Mediterranean Film Festival Split taking place in the city of Split, the second-largest city in Croatia from July 2 to 11.

“Yalda”, a co-production by Iran, France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Lebanon, will be competing with nine other films in the official section of the event. 

“Matriarch” by Jure Pavlovic from Croatia, “A Son”, a co-production of Tunisia and France by Mehdi M. Barsaoui, “Mosquito” by Joao Nuno Pinto from Portugal, and “Two of Us” by Filippo Meneghetti from France are among the films. 

Yalda is about Maryam, a young woman who has been sentenced to death for murdering her husband, Nasser. Iranian law allows for the victim’s family to forgive her and spare her life, so Maryam’s fate will be decided by Nasser’s daughter, Mona, on the country’s most popular televised reality show. 

In front of millions of viewers during Yalda, the winter solstice celebration, Maryam and Mona discover that forgiveness can be difficult as they relive the past.

“Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness” received the Grand Jury Prize of the World Cinema Dramatic section at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah in February.

The film was also an entry to the 2nd Pyeongchang International Peace Film Festival in mid-June. 

Photo: A scene from Iranian director Masud Bakhshi’s movie “Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness”.

RM/MMS/YAW