TEHRAN – The National Museum of Cinema – Torino is reviewing films by Iranian director and actress Niki Karimi.

Her films “Final Whistle”, “Night Shift” and “Atabai” have been selected to be screened at Cinema Massimo on May 13 and 14 as part of a program entitled “Stories of Iranian Women”.

“She is one of the most famous and acclaimed actresses and directors in Iran. She has acted in more than twenty-five films with which she has won national and international awards,” the museum said in its statement for the program. 

“Already an assistant to Abbas Kiarostami, she began her career as a director in 2001, directing five films, selected from the world’s most prestigious festivals… We pay homage to her cinema by presenting three of her films as a director,” the organizers added.

Directed in 2011, “Final Whistle” examines the border between law and justice, and between victims and perpetrators. The main character, a documentary director, begins to take an interest in the desperate story of a girl, Malineh. The girl tried to sell a kidney to save her mother in prison, awaiting trial on a murder charge.

“Night Shift” (2015) follows Nahid who realizes after an incident that her husband, Farhad, has been acting strangely. When she is warned of the man’s alleged suicidal tendencies, she becomes even more suspicious and begins to investigate her spouse and his secrets, and finds out that he no longer is working at the company he was dependent on.

“Atabai” is the latest film that she directed in 2020. It tells the story of Kazem, a middle-aged man who lives in a small village where he comes from, near the tourist site, Lake Urmia. A respected architect, he left the University because of a past love, but when two sisters enter his life, he discovers that he can fall in love once again.

Earlier in April, the National Museum of Cinema – Torino hosted a masterclass by two-time Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi.

In addition, his latest drama “A Hero” was screened at Cinema Massimo and he was awarded the Star of the Mole for his lifetime achievements.

Photo: Hadi Hejazifar and Javad Ezzati act in a scene from “Atabai” directed by Niki Karimi.

MMS/YAW