TEHRAN – Acclaimed Iranian film “Zalava” will be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, which will take place in the Canadian city from September 8 to 18.

Directed by Arsalan Amiri, the film will be showcased in Midnight Madness, a program dedicated to midnight screenings of the best in action, horror, shock and fantasy cinema.

The story of “Zalava” directed by Arsalan Amiri is set in 1978 in a small village called “Zalava”, where the villagers claim that a demon is among them. 

A young sergeant who investigates the claim crosses paths with an exorcist attempting to evict the demon from the village. He arrests the exorcist on a charge of fraud, but suddenly finds himself stuck in a cursed house with his lover. The villagers, who believe they are both possessed by the demon, decide to kill them.

“Zalava” received the award for best directorial debut at the 39th Fajr Film Festival in Tehran in February.

Co-written by Amiri, Ida Panahandeh and Tahmineh Bahram, the film also won the best screenplay award and brought Puria Rahimi-Sam the award for best supporting actor at the festival.

This film is scheduled to be screened at the Venice International Film Critics’ Week, an independent and parallel section of the Venice International Film Festival that is organized by the Union of Italian Film Critics (SNCCI).

Photo: Hoda Zeinolabedin and Navid Purfaraj act in a scene from “Zalava”.

MMS/YAW