TEHRAN – Six other movies by Iranian directors will be screened at the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival.

“World War III”, “Leila’s Brother”, “Scent of Wind” and “No Bear” have been selected to be showcased in the Viva la Festival section, which is dedicated to reviewing the latest award-winning or nominated films from the world’s major film festivals.

Directed by Hooman Seyyedi, “World War III” was Iran’s submission to the 2023 Oscars.

The film depicts Shakib, a hapless day laborer who finds himself cast in a film about the Nazi regime while hiding his girlfriend, a sex worker fleeing from her exploiters, on the set.
  
The film has been screened in numerous international events, including the 79th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Orizzonti Award for best film and the Orizzonti Award for best actor for Tanabandeh for his portrayal of Shakib. 

Another highlight of the lineup is “Scent of Wind” directed by Hadi Mohaqeq. 

The film was the opening film of the 2022 Busan International Film Festival and won the Kim Jiseok Award.

The film’s story is set in a distant Iranian village where a paralyzed man collects herbal medicine in the mountains for making his living with his sick child. The electricity goes off in his house and an electrician comes to fix it. Unfortunately, the problem is bigger than what was anticipated and may take days to be resolved. When he sees the child on the sickbed, he feels committed to doing whatever he can to bring the electricity back. However, he has a tough job ahead with facing nature and some unexpected events.  

It was also the winner of the Silver Balloon (Montgolfière d’Argent) award of the 2022 Festival des 3 Continents in Nantes, France.

Winner of the grand prize at the 36th Venice International Film Critics’ Week, “Zalava”, Arsalan Amiri’s directorial feature debut, will be screened in the Spectrum-Midnight Fantasy category.

The film presents a brilliant examination of faith, science and tradition based on stories told to him by his father.

In 1978, the inhabitants of a small village in Iran called Zalava claim there is a demon among them. Masud, a young gendarmerie sergeant who investigates this claim, encounters an exorcist attempting to rid the village of the demon. When he arrests the exorcist on charges of fraud, the villagers’ fear and anger escalate. Masud and his love interest, a government doctor, soon find themselves trapped in a cursed house, surrounded by villagers who believe they are both possessed by the demon.

Director Mohammadreza Aslani’s 1976 drama “Chess of the Wind” will be reviewed in the SIFF Classics-4K Restoration section.

In this film, the first lady of a noble house has died and now there is conflict among those remaining over the distribution of her inheritance.

The Iranian films “The Annoyed”, “1.5 Horsepower”, “Cause of Death: Unknown”, “Dolphin Boy” and “The Passion of Mahmoud” will be screened in different sections of the Shanghai festival, which will take place from June 9 to 18 in Shanghai, China.

Photo: Akbar Zanjanpur and Shahram Golchin in “Chess of the Wind”.

MMS/YAW