TEHRAN – Five Iranian films will go on screen at the 17th edition of Lublin Film Festival (LFF), which will be held in the Polish city from November 17 to 25. 

“A Childless Village” by Reza Jamali will go on screen in the main section of the festival.

As suggested by the title, the funny film-in-film comedy is about a small rural village, where no children have been born for a while and all the men assume that it is the fault of the women. 

Two decades ago, old filmmaker Kazem came to this remote rural village to make a documentary about the barrenness of the village women. But the village women wanted to protect their dignity, so they stole and burnt the footage.

By today, the villagers have found out that the men are sterile and there is nothing wrong with the women. With the help of his assistant, Kazem tries to record some interviews with the infertile men to unfold the truth in a new movie, but this turns out in many ways to be a Mission: Impossible.

Iranian shorts “48 Hours”, “Bro”, “Thirteenth Year” and “We Are All Dogs” will also compete at the festival. 

Directed by Azadeh Mousavi and starring Baran Kosari and Reza Akhlaqi, “48 Hours” tells the story of Nader, who is given a furlough to go home after three years in prison. He has 48 hours to become a father to his four-year-old daughter.

“Bro” by Sahand Kabiri is about Mehrad, a 20-year-old guy from the upper-middle-class Tehran. Despite the social practices of his class, he decides to deal cocaine in his underground party.

Samad Alizadeh's “Thirteen Year” revolves around Helia, a teenage girl who is celebrating her 13th birthday. However, her family starts to impose restrictions on her cycling, thinking that she has outgrown it.

“We are all Dogs” by Aminreza Alimohammadi is about a happy family in a sad world, a world where there is no place for rejected creatures.

LFF is one of the most important international events in the region that brings together filmmakers and fans of moving pictures from all around the world. The festival’s idea is the promotion of auteur film evading the mainstream, both short and feature length, as well as creating a space to evolve and meet people from the industry for young authors.

Photo: A scene from “A Childless Village” by Iranian director Reza Jamali 

SAB/