TEHRAN-The 2024 Iranian Film Festival in Malaysia, organized by Iran's cultural attaché office in Kuala Lumpur and supported by the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Malaysia, is making its grand return to selected GSC cinemas after a prolonged absence of five years. 

The festival will showcase a diverse selection of six acclaimed Iranian movies, with free screenings exclusively at GSC Mid Valley Megamall and GSC IOI City Mall in the Klang Valley until March 3.

Then, the festival will head north to GSC Gurney Plaza in Penang from March 7 to 10, offering movie enthusiasts a unique opportunity to experience Iranian cinema firsthand on the Malaysian big screen.

"Henas" directed by Hossein Darabi, "Bodyguard" by Ebrahim Hatamikia, "Track 143" by Narges Abyar, "Today" by Reza Mirkarimi, "No Prior Appointment" by Behrouz Shoeibi and "The Painting Pool" by Maziar Miri are the films selected for screening at the event. 

“Henas” is a drama that portrays the true story of the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist who was shot dead by Mossad gunmen. It is the final episode in the life of Dariush Rezainejad, the 35-year-old Iranian nuclear scientist who was shot dead by Mossad gunmen before the eyes of his wife and little girl in front of his house in Tehran in July 2011. The movie portrays the terrorist attack through the eyes of his wife.

“Bodyguard” is about the story of a middle-aged bodyguard who protects a politician from a suicide bomber, and then begins to question his dedication to his job.

Based on a book of the same title written by Abyar, “Track 143” is about a great maternal sacrifice during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. It tells the story of Olfat, a woman who is waiting for her son, who has been missing in action, to return home.

“Today” is about a taxi driver, who is faced with a life-changing decision when he drives a pregnant woman to a small Iranian hospital. As he journeys to the hospital, he must make choices that could alter his future

"No Prior Appointment" tells the story of an Iranian emigrant who, after 30 years, is compelled to return to her home country upon learning of her estranged father’s death. She hastily takes leave from her work as a doctor in Berlin, Germany, bringing her young autistic son with her, which makes the trip challenging for her. She achieves a new understanding of humanity and death during her short travel to Iran and meetings with her father’s friends.

"The Painting Pool" is about a boy named Soheil, who has a problem with his physically challenged parents.

Photo: Behruz Shoeibi and Merila Zarei act in a scene from “Henas”

SAB/