TEHRAN-The 2024 Iranian drama romance television miniseries “At the End of the Night” directed by Ida Panahandeh will compete in the 2025 edition of the Series Mania festival in France, from March 21 to 28.

Picked for the International Panorama section, the series will have its international premiere and compete with nine other works from Spain, Belgium, Brazil, Norway, South Korea, the UK, Iceland, Sweden, and France, ISNA reported.

Written and produced by the real-life creative couple Panahandeh and Arsalan Amiri, the nine-episode series tells the story of a couple living outside of Tehran who try to improve their lives and finances. However, as their efforts are unsuccessful, they part ways following their divorce.

The only participant from Iran and West Asia in the festival, the miniseries was selected from among 400 series submitted to the event from 56 countries.

It delicately and skillfully dissects the separation of a couple shattered by the disillusionment of their social situation. 

A powerful and bitter reflection on the sacrifices of a life together, the Iranian miniseries stands out for its deeply authentic characters and the exceptional performances of its two lead actors, Parsa Pirouzfar and Hoda Zeinolabedin.

The other cast members include Rayan Sarlak, Alireza Davoudnezhad, Reza Behboudi, Ehteram Boroumand, Siamak Safari, Kazem Hajirazad, and Nahid Moslemi among others.

Ida Panahandeh, 45, was born in Tehran. She holds a master's degree in film direction from the Arts University of Tehran. In 2009 she took part in the Berlin Talent Campus. 

Throughout her work, she has focused on women's rights. This she did with her debut feature film “Nahid” (2015), which won her worldwide acclaim. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival where it won a special prize (Prix DE l'Avenir) and was released in France by Memento Films. “Nahid” was also released in theatres in many European countries afterward. 

Her second feature “Israfil” (2017) was screened at the BFI London Film Festival and won several awards at International festivals; 

“The Nikaidos' Fall” (2018), her third feature is a co-production of Japan and Hong Kong with Naomi Kawase as the executive producer. The film debuted at the Nara International Film Festival and was released in Japan in January 2019, and then in a few East Asian countries. 

“Titi” (2020) her fourth feature film premiered at the 33rd Tokyo International Film Festival. It won three awards at the national and international festivals in 2022.

Two years ago, at the 2023 edition of the festival, the first Iranian series to be nominated in this section, “The Actor” by Nima Javidi took home the grand prix from the jury.

Based in Lille since 2018, Series Mania has become the biggest event dedicated uniquely to television series in Europe. Its festival offers exclusive world premieres of the greatest international series on the big screen, giving its audience – up to 85,500 spectators – eight days of discoveries, parties, and masterclasses with some of the most renowned personalities in the series world.

The festival also continues online with SERIES MANIA+, the digital platform for viewing the series and conferences from the program.

At the same time, Series Mania welcomes 3,800 French and foreign professionals of the TV industry at Series Mania Forum for three days of pitching, networking,g and high-level conferences. 

SS/SAB