TEHRAN-The 78th Cannes Film Festival has announced late-breaking additions to its 2025 festival lineup, including the new film by the Iranian filmmaker Saeed Roustayi.

The competition section films vying for the Palme d’Or have moved from the initial selection of 19 to 21. Titled “Woman and Child,” the fourth film by Roustayi has joined the Official Selection this year, competing with “Eddington” by Ari Aster, “Nouvelle Vague” by Richard Linklater, “The Phoenician Scheme” by Wes Anderson, “Sentimental Value” by Joachim Trier, and “The Young Mother’s Home” by Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne among others, ILNA reported.

French company Goodfellas, known as the Cannes whisperers, has boarded sales on this Iranian drama. Described as a contemporary family drama of revenge and forgiveness, the film stars Parinaz Izadyar (Law of Tehran) as a widowed nurse struggling with her rebellious son. When a tragic accident occurs, she finds herself confronting feelings of betrayal even as she seeks justice.

Payman Maadi (Law of Tehran, A Separation) and Hassan Pourshirazi (The Old Bachelor) are also in the cast along with Soha Niasti, Fereshteh Sadre Orafaee, Maziar Seyedi, and Sahar Goldoost.

Roustayi was nominated for the Palme d’Or in 2022 for “Leila’s Brothers,” a three-hour family epic starring frequent Asghar Farhadi collaborator Taraneh Alidoosti (The Salesman), Navid Mohammadzadeh (Law of Tehran), and Payman Maadi among others. The movie won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.

Saeed Roustayi, 35, is a filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer. His works primarily focus on issues of social injustice, as well as his portrayals of women in Iranian society.

He graduated from Soore University with a Bachelor of Film and Television in Directing. He won two Crystal Simorgh awards for best directing and best screenplay at the Fajr International Film Festival for his debut feature film “Life and a Day” (2016). The movie also received the 2016 Reflet d'Or for Best Feature at the Geneva International Film Festival Tous Ecrans.

Roustayi’s second feature film “Law of Tehran” (2019) was nominated for the César Award for Best Foreign Film. It was well received by critics at the 76th Venice Film Festival and won multiple awards, including the Crystal Simorgh for Audience Choice of Best Film, at the 37th Fajr Film Festival.

A thriller drama, “Law of Tehran” (also known as “Just 6.5”) was included in the list of 50 best films released in the UK in 2023 by The Guardian

The 78th Cannes Film Festival will be held from May 13 to 24. Renowned French actress Juliette Binoche will serve as jury president for the main competition. The Honorary Palme d'Or will be awarded to the celebrated actor Robert De Niro during the festival's opening ceremony.

One day after the announcement of the ACID official selection (a parallel section of the Cannes), Palestinian photojournalist Fatima Hassouna one of the main subjects of the documentary film “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk” by Sepideh Farsi, was killed along with ten members of her family in an Israeli airstrike on their home in Gaza City on April 16. The festival released an official statement expressing condolences and criticizing the ongoing violence in Gaza.

SS/SAB