06/02/26 – 7.30pm The Venue
Iran 2025
Dir: Jafar Panahi
Cert 12A
104 mins
Starring: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi
Jafar Panahi’s first film after being released from jail in his native Iran had, like several of its predecessors, to be made clandestinely.
Iran, the present day. Vahid, a garage mechanic, encounters a man he believes to be Eghbal, the sadistic guard and torturer from his days in prison. Seething with a desire for revenge, he concocts a plan to kidnap Eghbal and bury him alive in the desert. At the last moment, however, he has doubts and decides to round up a few friends, all former prisoners, to confirm the man’s identity. But even if they have the right man, can this bickering group agree on what to do with him? Moreover, the film begs the question of whether revenge is the right way forward. A taut, humane political thriller, imbued with wry humour and sympathy for its characters.
Winner of the Palme d’or, Cannes 2025.
Trailer: