TEHRAN – Ten movies from Iranian filmmakers will be screened in different sections of the 45th edition of the Mostra-Sao Paulo International Film Festival in Brazil.

Director Asghar Farhadi’s drama “A Hero” will compete in the international perspective of the festival, which will take place from October 21 to November 3.

The film is about Rahim who is taken into custody as he is unable to pay his debts. After being granted a two-day parole, he attempts to get his lender to write off part of the debt and withdraw the charges. When Rahim finds a handbag full of gold pieces and returns it to the owner instead of helping himself, he is suddenly celebrated in the media as an upstanding citizen.

As a co-production between Iran and France, the film won the Grand Prix (ex aequo) at Cannes 2021.

The story of “The Dogs Didn’t Sleep Last Night”, directed by Ramin Rasuli, is set in a remote area in Afghanistan, where stories of the lives of a young shepherdess, a birdcatcher boy and a mourning teacher are intertwined after their school is burned down. The young shepherdess takes the risk of saving a female U.S. soldier after a helicopter crash. The birdcatcher boy takes shelter in a tank with the birds, the pin-ups and the illegal music that he loves. And the mourning teacher seeks vengeance on the one who has widowed her.

“No Choice” by Reza Dormishian will also compete in this section.

The film tells the story of three women who clash when a determined lawyer takes on the case of a homeless girl against a doctor. A 16-year-old homeless girl repeatedly works as a surrogate mother for money. A human rights attorney tries to rescue her, but inevitably faces difficulties.

The section also features “Majority” by Mohsen Qarai, “The Dogs Didn’t Sleep Last Night” by Ramin Rasuli and “Radiograph of a Family” by Firuzeh Khosrovani.

Five films by Iranian directors have also been selected to be screened in the New Directors section.

Arsalan Amiri’s acclaimed directorial debut “Zalava” is among the films.

The film won the grand prize at the 36th Venice International Film Critics’ Week.

The story of the film is set in 1978 in a small village called “Zalava”, where the villagers claim that a demon is among them. 

A young sergeant who investigates the claim crosses paths with an exorcist attempting to evict the demon from the village. He arrests the exorcist on a charge of fraud, but suddenly finds himself stuck in a cursed house with his lover. The villagers who believe they are both possessed by the demon, decide to kill them.

“Without Aban” by Mehrdad Kuroshnia will also be screened in this category.

Aban is a forest ranger who has to get married in another month. While chasing after wood smugglers, he finds a little girl on the road who has died. Everyone suspects that he must have had an accident involving the child, but Aban does not admit it. Instead, he admits that he killed a girl 15 years ago in such a situation and secretly buried her. The police ask him for a sign or a document, but he has no evidence, and even the place where he buried the child has become a highway. Aban complains to himself, but there is no evidence to prove his conviction.

“District Terminal”, an Iran-German co-production by Bardia Yadegari and Ehsan Mirhosseini, will also compete in this section. 

The Iranian lineup also includes “At the End of Evin” by Mohammad Torabbeigi and Mehdi Torabbeigi and “Hit the Road” by Panah Panahi.

Photo: A scene from Arsalan Amiri’s acclaimed directorial debut “Zalava”.

MMS/YAW