TEHRAN – Three Iranian films will compete in various sections of the 18th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star, which will open in the Indian city tomorrow.

Asghar Farhadi’s “The Salesman”, which is Iran’s submission to the 89th Academy Awards in the best foreign-language film category, will be screened in the World Cinema category.

The movie won awards for best screenplay for Farhadi and best actor for Shahab Hosseini at the 69th Cannes Film Festival in May.

“The Salesman” is about Emad (Shahab Hosseini) and Rana (Taraneh Alidusti) who move into a new flat in the center of Tehran. An incident linked to the previous tenant dramatically changes the young couple’s life.

The section will also screen Reza Dormishian’s acclaimed drama “Lanturi”.

The film narrates a love story turned tragic by external circumstances. Gang member Pasha runs amok because Maryam, a socially committed, self-confident journalist, does not reciprocate his feelings. The badly injured young woman demands lex talionis – the law, applicable in Iran, of “an eye for an eye”.

Another Iranian film, “ValDerama” by Abbas Amini, is scheduled to be shown in the Half Ticket section of the festival, which will run until October 27.

ABU/YAW