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Imagine if there is another version of us in a parallel world somewhere. That very thought is frightening itself, but imagine if that other version lives in our same world. That sounds fine considering the world is big and people can live in different parts of the world. But, what if, that version lives nearby and it is just a matter of time before we bump into them? This is exactly the premise of this film. Subtraction is a brilliantly made, intense, fast-paced sci-fi thriller that keeps you engaged the whole time. Director Mani Haghighi has made a film that is technically magnificent in every regard while telling a story of identity, anxiety and trust in a male dominant hierarchical society.

We meet Farzaneh (Taraneh Alidoosti) who is a pregnant driving instructor in the middle of her driving lesson with a student. They are stuck in traffic and it’s pouring outside.

Films Boutique has closed a flurry of deals on “Subtraction,” Mani Haghighi’s Iranian noir thriller which world premiered at Toronto in the competition Platform section.

The Berlin-based company has closed deals in France (Diaphana in association with Kinovista), Russia and Cis (A One), Canada (Films We Like), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF Megacom), Middle East (Fron Row), Poland (Mayfly), Taiwan (Proview Ent.), Australia and New Zealand (Vendetta), Switzerland (Trigon) and Benelux (September Films).

The movie is headlined by Taraneh Alidoosti, the Iranian star of “The Salesman” and “Leila’s Brothers” and Navid Mohammadzadeh (“Leila’s Brothers”). Both Haghighi and Alidoosti have recently been targeted by Iranian authorities. Alidoosti was temporarily arrested, while Haghighi had his passport confiscated as he was about to board a flight to attend the BFI London Film Festival.

Set in downtown Tehran, the movie stars Farzaneh as a young driving instructor who spots her husband, Jalal, walking into a woman’s apartment.

GÖTEBORG, Sweden — Many of the screenings at this year’s Göteborg International Film Festival have been preceded by a talk or introduction.

But none, so far, have witnessed a dignified protest. That all changed on Tuesday when audiences at the city’s Grand Theatre watched a 30-minute on-stage protest by Iranian actor and Nordic Competition jury head Zar Amir Ebrahimi (“Holy Spider”).

Amir Ebrahimi dedicated the protest to the Iranian people and the jailed artists of Iran. Joining her on stage were fellow jury members Sofie Gråbøl, Nahid Persson and Gizem Erdogan, as well as Swedish-Iranian filmmakers and Jonas Holmberg, artistic director of the Göteborg Film Festival.

Following a speech critical of the Iranian regime and of the crackdown that has so far led to more than 500 deaths, she then read out the names of 173 jailed artists and cultural figures whose names were displayed on a screen on the stage.

Holy Spider star Zar Amir Ebrahimi led a demonstration in support of the people of Iran and the artists who have been detained by the country’s political regime at the Göteborg Film Festival Tuesday evening.

Ebrahimi, who this year leads the festival’s official competition jury, took the stage prior to the screening of Subtraction by Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi and read a statement written by a group of artists called Art Culture Action Association.

During her speech, Amir Ebrahimi urged the spectators to sign the statement, which called for listeners to show support and solidarity for the people of Iran against the actions of the political regime.

“We, artists, writers, academics, and cultural practitioners from across disciplines and various countries, support the call of our Iranian colleagues to stand in solidarity with their struggle against the repressive and despotic Islamic state in Iran,” Ebrahimi said during her speech.

Goteborg will screen nearly 250 films in 700 screenings, making it the largest film festival in Scandinavia.

The 46th Goteborg Film Festival (Jan 27-Feb 5) will kick off with the world premiere of Exodus, directed by Abbe Hassan, about a smuggler who tries to save a Syrian girl; the closing film will be Camino, directed by Birgitte Stærmose, about a 30-year-old woman on a long hike with her father to honour her mother’s last wish.

Goteborg will screen nearly 250 films in 700 screenings, making it the largest film festival in Scandinavia.

About 50 of the films – including all in the International Competition – will be...

Sweden’s Göteborg Film Festival announced Tuesday lineup for its 46th edition, with “Danish Girl” star Alicia Vikander and double Palme d’Or winning director Ruben Östlund among attendees.

The biggest festival in Scandinavia, Göteborg opens with the world premiere of Abbe Hassan’s “Exodus” on Jan. 27. Its closing film is “Camino” by Birgitte Stærmose.

The festival will screen 250 films during 10 days. “Exodus” will compete for the title of Best Nordic Film – and a prize sum of Sek 400 000 – alongside “Godland,” IFFR opener “Munch,” “Ellos eatnu – Let the River Flow,” “Unruly,” “Four Little Adults,” “Copenhagen Does Not Exist” and “Dogborn,” already shown in Venice.

In the Nordic Documentary Competition, the audience will get to see “Hypernoon,” “The King,” IDFA winner “Apolonia, Apolonia,” “Bong Thom” (“The Brother”), “Labor” and “Monica in the South Seas.”

“Nordic countries are opening up for discussion about their role in colonial history. It’s something that’s...

The Göteborg Film Festival has unveiled the competition titles selected for its 46th edition, which runs from January 27 – February 5. (Scroll down for the full list).

Göteborg is split into four competition strands. The main strand is the Nordic Competition, which features nine films from the Nordic region. The competition’s winner takes home the Dragon Award and a Sek 400 000 cash prize. The rest of the festival comprises the Nordic Documentary Competition, the Ingmar Bergman Competition for first-time filmmakers, and the International Competition.

Among the Nordic highlights is Swedish filmmaker Isabella Carbonell’s thriller Dogborn, starring Swedish rap star Silvana Imam. The pic debuted at Venice last year and follows two homeless twins and their struggle to survive. Hlynur Pálmason’s well-received period piece Godland also screens in competition. Set in the late 19th Century, the drama revolves around a young Danish priest who travels to a remote part of...

Holy Spider breakout Zar Amir Ebrahimi will head the jury of the Nordic Competition at the 46th Göteborg Film Festival, running from January 27 – February 5.

Ebrahimi will be joined on the jury by Danish actress Sofie Gråbøl (The Killing), Ukrainian filmmaker Antonio Lukich, and composer Matti Bye. The jury hands out the gong for the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film. Last year, the awards were handed out with a Sek 400 000 cash prize. Nine films will compete in the 2023 Nordic Competition. The nominees will be revealed on January 10.

“I am incredibly proud to be leading a jury of these impressive artists so that we may not only amplify the stellar work in the festival but to also draw attention to the atrocities happening every day around us,” said Amir Ebrahimi.

Ebrahimi picked up the Best Actress prize at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival for her leading role in Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider.

Iranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi, the star of Ali Abbasi’s Oscar contender Holy Spider, will head up the Nordic competition jury at this year’s Goteborg Film Festival.

Ebrahimi, riding high following her star-making performance in Holy Spider, which won her the best actress honor in Cannes last year, will oversee the main competition section at Goteborg, Sweden’s leading film fest.

She’s joined on the 2023 Goteborg jury by Danish actress Sofie Grabol (The Killing), Ukrainian director Antonio Lukich (Luxembourg, Luxembourg) and Swedish film composer Matti Bye (The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared). The jury will pick the best films from this year’s festival from the Nordic regions. The nine films in the 2023 Nordic Competition lineup will be announced Jan. 10.

In Holy Spider, Ebrahimi plays an Iranian journalist trying to find a serial killer who has been targeting sex workers in Iran’s holy city of Mashhad.

Iranian actor Taraneh Alidoosti (“The Salesman”) is being released on bail from Evin Prison.

Nadereh Hakim Elahi, Alidoosti’s mother, revealed her release via an Instagram post.

The actor’s attorney, Zahra Minooei, tweeted about her release, saying: “Today, my client Ms. Taraneh Alidoosti will be released from Evin Prison after posting bail.”

The actor, who starred in four films directed by Asghar Farhadi, was jailed Dec. 17 after taking part in demonstrations to fight against the oppressive Iranian regime. She was also sanctioned for standing in solidarity with imprisoned Iranian filmmakers, notably Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof.

Over 600 artists around the world had signed a petition urging Iran to release the actor.

In an online campaign launched under the title “Justice for Taraneh Alidousti,” Mark Ruffalo, Pedro Almodovar, Penelope Cruz, Juliette Binoche, Alfonso Cuaron, Ken Loach Emma Thompson, Jason Momoa, Jeremy Irons, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Ian McKellen and Isabelle Huppert...

Robert De Niro is taking a stand for human rights.

On Friday the actor and Tribeca Festival co-founder Jane Rosenthal released a statement calling for the release of Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti from prison.

Read More: Two Iranian Actresses Arrested For Protesting Without Headscarves

The actress, who starred in the Oscar-winning “The Salesman” among many other films, was arrested last week in Iran for her support of the ongoing protests against the government following the killing of Mahsa Amini for not wearing her legally mandatory headscarf.

“We are deeply concerned for Taraneh’s safety and join film festivals, filmmakers, and artists around the world in calling for her release,” Tribeca said in a statement signed by De Niro and Rosenthal. “Tribeca commends Taraneh, a supporter of women’s rights, for her unfathomable bravery, defiantly speaking out against the Iranian government while not wearing a head covering. We, too, declare, ‘Woman,...

Oscar-winning Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi took to social media to protest against the arrest of Taraneh Alidoosti, the beloved actor of his Oscar-winning film “The Salesman.”

Alidoosti, who starred in three other films directed by Farhadi, was jailed on Saturday after taking part in demonstrations to fight against the oppressive Iranian regime. She was also sanctioned for standing in solidarity with imprisoned Iranian filmmakers, notably Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof.

“I have worked with Taraneh on four films and now she is in prison for her rightful support of her fellow countrymen and her opposition to the unjust sentences being issued,” Farhadi wrote on his Instagram account. “If showing such support is a crime, then tens of millions of people of this land are criminals,” he continued.

Farhadi said he “(stood) with Taraneh and (demanded) her release alongside that of his other fellow cineastes Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof and...

We have just learned of the arrest of the great Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti, for her support of the protests following the death of Mahsa Amini.

She is the lead actress in the film “Leila and her Brothers” by Saeed Roustaee, Fipresci Cannes 2022 award.

She was a member of the jury of the 20th Festival International des Cinémas d’Asie de Vesoul 2014, chaired by Brillante Mendoza.

Talented actress she has won many awards in international festivals

She has worked with the greatest Iranian directors including Ashgar Farhadi, Mani Haghighi, …

The Festival International des Cinemas d’Asie of Vesoul supports this activist for human rights.

Click here to read the full article.

Iranian filmmaker Reza Dormishian was preparing to attend the International Film Festival of India (Iffi) last week to debut a new film he produced when he was stopped at the Tehran airport by authorities and told that he was barred from leaving his home country. The director’s passport was then confiscated and he was referred to an Iranian court for prosecution. It remains unclear what charges he may face.

Representatives for Dormishian say they believe he was detained because of his recent posts to Instagram voicing support for those speaking out during Iran’s ongoing, nationwide protests. He has been especially vocal in his criticism of the government’s crackdown on filmmakers, expressing solidarity with imprisoned directors Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof.

Dormishian was due to attend the Iffi in Goa in support of fellow director Dariush Mehrjui’s A Minor, which...

Filmmaker Reza Dormishian has been barred by Iranian authorities from traveling to the International Film Festival of India in Goa, where “A Minor,” a film he produced was due to play in competition.

He is only the latest member of Iran’s film community to be sanctioned by the Iranian regime for expressing anti-government views.

Dormishian had been invited by Iffi to accompany the film that was directed by Dariush Mehrjui. However, the Iranian authorities did not grant him a permit to leave Iran. The film played on Thursday and Friday.

“A Minor” tells a story of a woman who is torn between her free-thinking daughter, who wants to study music, and her more conservative husband.

When Dormishian went to the airport his passport was confiscated. “He was referred to the court of law for prosecution,” sources close to the filmmaker report. It is not clear if Dormishian was arrested...

The romantic drama is Ozeptek’s first film since 2019’s ‘The Fortune Goddess’.

Italian director Ferzan Ozpetek has started shooting the romantic drama Nuovo Olimpo in Rome today for Netflix. Damiano Gavino and Andrea Di Luigi star with Luisa Ranieri, Greta Scarano, Aurora Giovinazzo, Alvise Rigo, and Giancarlo Commare.

Ozeptek has written the script with regularr collaborator Gianni Romoli who is also producing the film with Tilde Corsi for R&c Productions and Faros Film.

Nuovo Olimpo follows the lives of two young men who meet and fell in love in the 1970s as idealistic, young 25 year-olds . After a twist of events separates them,...

“Press releases and social media messages achieve nothing,” said the filmmaker.

Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi has called on the international film community to step up efforts in the fight against the authoritarian Iranian government, and says festivals, markets and the Oscars should exclude state-run Iranian entities.

“Press releases condemning the imprisonment of filmmakers change nothing. Film stars holding signs demanding the release of imprisoned filmmakers change nothing,” Haghighi told Screen from his home in Tehran. “They are very nice, and are done with the best intentions, but they make no difference at all. The only thing they accomplish is to...

Editor’s note: IndieWire obtained a statement from Asghar Farhadi’s attorney via representatives in response to the piece published in The New Yorker on Monday, October 31. The full statement can be found at the bottom of this story.

Updated November 3: A New Yorker spokesperson shared this statement of IndieWire supporting Rachel Aviv’s piece following Farhadi’s attorney’s claims: “Rachel Aviv wrote a fair and factual account, supported by numerous on-the-record sources and confirmed by our fact checkers. She spoke extensively with Mr. Farhadi — more than a dozen hours worth of interviews — and the article examines his perspective at length and reflects his substantial input. The New Yorker stands by the story.”

Published November 1: Asghar Farhadi is currently awaiting a final decision in the plagiarism lawsuit filed against him by his former student Azadeh Masihzadeh, who claims that his film “A Hero” was based on a...

The director was recently prevented from leaving Iran by authorities.

Berlin-based Films Boutique has closed further deals on Iranian drama Subtraction directed by actor/filmmaker Mani Haghighi.

The film, which screened at Toronto and the BFI London Film Festival earlier this autumn, has now gone to Trigon for Switzerland, Mayfly for Poland and Megacom for ex-Yugoslavia. It had previously been acquired by Diaphana in France and September Films in Benelux.

Subtraction is produced by Majid Motalebi and stars Taraneh Alidoosti, Navi Mohammadzadeh, and Esmail Poor Reza. The Iran-France co-production follows a driving instructor who sees her husband on the streets...

The director was recently prevented from leaving Iran by authorities.

Berlin-based Films Boutique has closed further deals on Iranian drama Subtraction directed by actor/filmmaker Mani Haghighi.

The film, which screened at Toronto and the BFI London Film Festival earlier this autumn, has now gone to Trigon for Switzerland, Mayfly for Poland and Megacom for ex-Yugoslavia. It had previously been acquired by Diaphana in France and September Films in Benelux.

Subtraction is produced by Majid Motalebi and stars Taraneh Alidoosti, Navi Mohammadzadeh, and Esmail Poor Reza. The Iran-France co-production follows a driving instructor who sees her husband on the streets...

Get ready to fall in love with “Tehranto”, a new Canadian romantic comedy from director Faran Moradi that explores the cultural divide with Toronto’s Persian-Canadian community.

“These days, there are two types of Iranian immigrants — those who left Iran before the Revolution, and those who left after,” states the synopsis from the film, the feature debut of writer/director Faran Moradi.

Read More: Iranian Authorities Stop Filmmaker Mani Haghighi From Departing Iran For London Film Premiere

“Sharon (Mo Zeighami) is a Richmond Hill artist, impartial to her Persian culture, forced into real estate by her money-driven parents,” the synopsis continues. “Badi (Sammy Azero) is a brash, newly immigrated med-student from a small town in Iran, drowning in his contempt for assimilated Iranians, branding them ‘traitors to their race.’ After Badi and Sharon cross paths, everything changes. A magnetic attraction pulls them together, but the collision of their two worlds...

Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi was due to present his new film Subtraction at London Film Festival this year, after screening it earlier at Toronto (TIFF), but was stopped from leaving Iran and had his passport confiscated. His great loss was still the London festival audience’s gain, as this important narrative from this region continued to be admired for its insightful factual elements and important voices.

Unlike Haghighi’s dark comedy Pig in 2018, his latest offering is a somber, Hitchcockian-styled thriller, complete with intrigue, mystery, malice and near continual pouring rain. Fascinating still is the backstory for Subtraction‘s plot: According to Variety, Haghighi was stunned to find a doppelgänger of his adult self in an old photograph on display at a mosque in southwest Iran, where the Iran-Iraq war took place. At the time the photo was taken though, Haghighi was just a boy of 10 years old. Hence, Subtraction...

It appears Britney Spears has made an enemy of the the Iranian government.

Over the weekend, Spears tweeted out in support of the ongoing protests in Iran, sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for violating the country’s mandatory hijab law.

Read More: Angelina Jolie Praises The ‘Fearless Women Of Iran’ Amid Widespread Protests

Spears wrote that she and her husband “stand with the people of Iran fighting for freedom,” a sentiment that was echoed on Instagram by her husband, Sam Asghari.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sam Asghari (@samasghari)

Asghari is himself an Iranian-American, born in Tehran before moving to the U.S. with his family at age 13.

In response to their backing of the protests, the state media company Irna tweeted a jab at Spears over her conservatorship, which was lifted last year.

American singer @BritneySpears was placed under...

Martyna Szmytkowska, Malaika Bova promoted to artistic director roles.

The UK’s Raindance Film Festival has promoted senior programmers Martyna Szmytkowska and Malaika Bova to artistic directors, as part of a restructure of the festival’s leading team.

They join existing artistic director Suzanne Ballantyne who also works as head of programming and co-founded the festival with Elliot Grove.

Festival producer David Martinez has been promoted to executive director, ahead of the festival’s 30th anniversary edition, which runs from October 26 to November 5 this year.

Ballantyne, Szmytkowska and Bova will head up the festival’s creative vision, leading the broader programming team.

Martyna Szmytkowska, Malaika Bova promoted to artistic director roles.

The UK’s Raindance Film Festival has promoted senior programmers Martyna Szmytkowska and Malaika Bova to artistic directors, as part of a restructure of the festival’s leading team.

They join existing artistic director Suzanne Ballantyne who also works as head of programming and co-founded the festival with Elliot Grove.

Festival producer David Martinez has been promoted to executive director, ahead of the festival’s 30th anniversary edition, which runs from October 26 to November 5 this year.

Ballantyne, Szmytkowska and Bova will head up the festival’s creative vision, leading the broader programming team.

After talking about the compelling array of short films available to watch at London Film Festival last week, I now find myself in the same position talking about the impressive selection of feature films that were on display this year. The features on show at Lff ran across a huge variety of strands and programmes from the genre-specific fare of the ‘Cult’ strand to the Headline Galas which attracted some of the world’s biggest stars to the red carpet in London. Here at Dn, however, we’re interested in those hidden gems, the films that won’t be arriving on Netflix in a month’s time that push the artistic boundaries of the form and deserve to be championed. So, with that in mind, we offer below a recommended selection of ten features to add to your watch list from a collection of international auteurs and innovative debut filmmakers.

Manuela Martelli’s ‘1976’ wins Sutherland Award.

Marie Kreutzer’s Corsage led the winners at the 2022 BFI London Film Festival (October 5-16), taking the best film prize in the Official Competition.

The Official Competition jury, led by Tanya Seghatchian, praised the ”masterfully realised film for its mesmerising and original interpretation of the life of the Austrian Empress Elisabeth”, and said it was ”completed seduced by Vicky Krieps’ sublime performance of a woman out of time trapped in her own iconography and her rebellious yearning for liberation.”

Scroll down for the full list of winners

Corsage debuted in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in May,...

Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi had his passport confiscated at the airport as he was about to board a flight to attend the BFI London Film Festival.

Haghighi was expected to present there the UK premiere of his latest film, ‘Subtraction’, reports Variety.

In a filmed video statement, which will be played before his film screens on Saturday Haghighi said: “I’m very sorry that I’m unable to be there with you tonight in the theatre. I was prevented by the Iranian authorities from boarding my flight to London on Friday.”

“They gave me no reasonable explanation for this utterly rude behaviour.”

“So naturally on the way home from the airport, I was wondering about this and I was asking myself, why would the Iranian regime want to prevent me, a filmmaker, from leaving my own country? And I came up with two theories. The first one is this: a couple of weeks ago,...

Mani Haghighi is the latest film director who has been impacted by Iran’s ongoing restraint on filmmakers.

The Iranian actor and director was prevented from leaving the country to attend the BFI London Film Festival, where he was set to premiere his film “Subtraction” on Oct. 15.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Haghighi, who first debuted the film in Toronto, had his passport confiscated after he was stopped at the airport in Tehran. The 53-year-old writer and producer has since gone back to his home in Iran’s capital city.

The British Film Institute took to Twitter on Friday to share a video of Haghighi speaking about the “utterly rude behaviour” he experienced from authorities. He also explained two theories he came up with as to why the Iranian regime would prevent him from leaving his own country, which can be seen in the video below.

Read More: Angelina Jolie...

The Subtraction director had his passport confiscated by Iranian authorities and was prevented from boarding his flight to the UK, allegedly with no reason given

Iranian film-maker Mani Haghighi has been banned from leaving the country and had his passport confiscated after attempting to travel to London, where his latest film Subtraction is screening at the London film festival.

In a video statement, Haghighi said: “I was prevented by the Iranian authorities from boarding my flight to London on Friday. They gave me no reasonable explanation for this utterly rude behaviour.”...

Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi had his passport confiscated at the airport as he was about to board a flight to attend the BFI London Film Festival. Haghighi was expected to present there the U.K. premiere of his latest film, “Subtraction.”

In a filmed video statement, which will be played before his film screens on Saturday (Oct. 15), Haghighi said: “I’m very sorry that I’m unable to be there with you tonight in the theatre. I was prevented by the Iranian authorities from boarding my flight to London on Friday. They gave me no reasonable explanation for this utterly rude behaviour.”

“So naturally on the way home from the airport, I was wondering about this and I was asking myself, why would the Iranian regime want to prevent me, a filmmaker, from leaving my own country? And I came up with two theories. The first one is this: a couple of weeks ago,...

Haghighi was due to present his film ‘Subtraction’ tomorrow.

Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi has been prevented from boarding his flight to attend the BFI London Film Festival (Lff), where he was due to attend the UK premiere of his film Subtraction tomorrow (Oct 15).

According to the BFI, Haghighi was turned away by authorities in Iran and has had his passport confiscated. He has returned to his home in Tehran.

Haghighi has responded to the incident in a video published this afternoon (October 14) by the BFI.

Filmmaker Mani Haghighi was due to join us at the BFI London Film Festival with his film Subtraction.

Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi will no longer attend the London Film Festival premiere of his latest film Subtraction after authorities stopped him from boarding a flight to London.

A spokesperson for the BFI London Film Festival told Deadline that Haghighi was turned away at the airport by Iranian authorities and his passport was confiscated.

“He has returned to his home in Tehran. We understand that no reason has been given to Mani Haghighi for the confiscation,” the statement continued. “The BFI London Film Festival supports Haghighi and all filmmakers in their freedom to make their films and present them around the world.”

The spokesperson added: “Earlier this week, in solidarity with imprisoned Iranian filmmakers and the brave women of Iran who are challenging for their freedom, BFI London Film Festival filmmakers and delegates joined Festival Director, Tricia Tuttle, in a moment of solidarity and reflection.”

Haghighi traveled to Toronto for...

The ongoing clampdown on filmmakers in Iran is continuing at a worrying pace.

Mani Haghighi is the latest to be impacted, the actor and director having been prevented from leaving Iran to attend the BFI London Film Festival, where his film Subtraction was due to premiere on Oct. 15. The Hollywood Reporter understands that Haghighi, who first debuted the film in Toronto, where he was able to attend, was stopped at the airport in Iran and had his passport confiscated. He has since returned to his home in Tehran.

“We understand that no reason has been given to Mani Haghighi for the confiscation. The BFI London Film Festival supports Haghighi and all filmmakers in their freedom to make their films and present them around the world,” said a film festival spokesperson.

The spokesperson added, “Earlier this week, in solidarity with imprisoned Iranian filmmakers and...

In July, Iran arrested three filmmakers for speaking out against police violence and the persecution of women in the country, including prominent directors Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof. Now, a fourth veteran Iranian filmmaker is facing repercussions for speaking out, as “Subtraction” director Mani Haghighi told IndieWire that his passport was confiscated at the Tehran International Airport on Thursday while he was en route to the BFI London Film Festival. He was prevented from boarding his flight and returned home.

“I thought this was going to happen,” he said in a voice memo on Thursday shortly after he was informed of the decision. “It’s just their attempt to intimidate us. The more noise we make, the less successful that plan will be.”

A spokesperson for the BFI London Film Festival told IndieWire that the festival was aware of the situation. “We understand that no reason has been given to Mani Haghighi for the confiscation,...

The Swiss festival runs November 4-13.

The Geneva International Film Festival has unveiled the line-up for its 28th edition, as well as an honorary award for Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn.

The Swiss festival’s international competition includes Alice Diop’s Saint Omer which previously picked up the Silver Lion jury prize at Venice and is France’s Oscar submission for best international feature.

Also competing for the Reflet d’Or award for best film, worth CHF10,000 , is Japanese animation Inu-oh from Masaaki Yuasa. The Japan-China co-production premiered in Venice’s Horizons strand before screening as a special presentation at Toronto.

Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.

Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.

Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry

An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.

Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.

A shortlist of 15 finalists is...

“Subtraction,” from idiosyncratic Iranian helmer-writer Mani Haghighi is a tense Hitchcockian thriller set in Tehran, where a heavy, non-stop rainfall signals a lingering malaise. There, a young couple come across their doppelgängers. The film premiered at the Toronto festival.

The idea for the plot grew out of the helmer’s long-ago trip to Southwest Iran to look at places where the Iran-Iraq war took place.

“It was a hot summer day and I wandered into a local mosque to cool down and get some rest,” Haghighi says. “The people who ran the mosque had put on an exhibition of photographs from the war years. I was casually looking at these pictures and I was suddenly transfixed by one of them. It was a picture of me, in military uniform, badly wounded in the neck, being carried by two other soldiers. As one of the characters says in ‘Subtraction,’ ‘It’s...

Houman Seyyedi’s darkly comic drama World War III has been named as Iran’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards, set for March 12 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. See the full list of entries by country below.

The film chosen “unanimously” by Iran’s Oscars committee follows the day laborer Shakib (Mohsen Tanabandeh), who after being cast in a movie, must secretly shelter his lover on the set or risk losing her and all that movie stardom has promised him.

Seyyedi, Arian Vazirdaftari and Azad Jafarian scripted the pic, which world premiered in the Horizons section of this year’s Venice Film Festival and went on to win the section’s prizes for Best Film and Best Actor (Tanabandeh). Its cast also includes Neda Jebreili, Mahsa Hejazi and Navid Nosrati.

Parviz Sheikh Tadi, the speaker and a member of the committee in...

"They don't just look like us. It's like we're clones." Films Boutique has debuted a festival promo trailer for an Iranian film titled Subtraction, from filmmaker / actor Mani Haghighi. This is premiering at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival underway right now, and it's still looking for distribution. Hopefully with some good festival buzz it will be picked up. In downtown Tehran, Farzaneh, a driving instructor, spots her husband, Jalal, walking into a woman's apartment. When she confronts him, Jalal claims he was out of town for work. He decides to check out the building for himself. There, he meets a woman who is the spitting image of Farzaneh. Her name is Bita. Stunned, the two compare family photos: Bita's husband also looks identical to Jalal. A story of identity and doppelgängers and much more. The film stars Taraneh Alidoosti, Navid Mohammadzadeh, Esmail PoorReza, and Farham Azizi. It looks like it gets...

Films Boutique handles sales on the title which is screening at TIFF.

Ariel Escalante Meza’s supernatural drama Domingo And The Mist has been chosen as Costa Rica’s international feature Oscar contender.

The announcement comes as the film receives its North American premiere this week at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Films Boutique is handling worldwide sales.

The film is the story of a widowed loner living in a remote area of tropical rainforest in Costa Rica who is threatened with the loss of his property. Ruthless developers are planning a new highway, a scheme he stubbornly resists.

It would be strange enough if you find someone out in the world who looks identical to you. But what would really screw with your mind is if you found out that your doppelganger is married to someone who looks identical to your spouse. That’s the situation for Farzaneh in the new thriller, “Subtraction.”

With “Subtraction” about to make its debut at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, we’re happy to give our readers an exclusive look at the trailer for the Iranian thriller from filmmaker Mani Haghighi.

Continue reading ‘Subtraction’ Exclusive Trailer: Mani Haghighi’s New Trippy Thriller Is Set To Debut At TIFF at The Playlist.

The Toronto International Film Festival returns in September 2022 for its 47th edition — 11 days of international and Canadian cinema, special events featuring some of the biggest names in film, and TIFF’s Industry Conference, offering diverse and innovative perspectives on the art and business of film. The full programme can be found Here.

Here is a selection of Asian titles:

Features A Gaza Weekend

A Gaza Weekend

Basil Khalil ­- Palestine, United Kingdom, 2022

A Long Break

Davit Pirtskhalava – Georgia, 2022

A Man of Reason

Jung Woo-sung – South Korea, 2022

Alam

Firas Khoury – France, Tunisia, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, 2022

Autobiography

Makbul Mubarak – Indonesia, France, Singapore, Poland, Philippines, Germany, Qatar, 2022

Beyond the Wall

Beyond the Wall

Shab, Dkheli, Divar – Iran, 2022

Broker

Hirokazu Kore-eda – South Korea, 2022

Decision to Leave

Park Chan-wook – South Korea, 2022

Hunt

Lee Jung-jae – South Korea, 2022

In Her Hands

Tamana Ayazi, Marcel Mettelsiefen – United States of America, Afghanistan, 2022

Joyland

Joyland

Saim Sadiq – Pakistan, 2022

Kacchey Limbu

Shubham Yogi – India,...

The WhaleWAVELENGTHS - FEATURESConcrete Valley (Antoine Bourges)De Humani Corporis Fabrica (Véréna Paravel, Lucien Castaing-Taylor)Dry Ground BurningHorse Opera (Moyra Davey)Pacifiction (Albert Serra)Queens of the Qing Dynasty (Ashley McKenzie)Unrest (Cyril Schäublin)Will-o’-the-Wisp (João Pedro Rodrigues)Wavelenghths - SHORTSAfter Work (Céline Condorelli, Ben Rivers)Bigger on the Inside (Angelo Madsen Minax)Eventide (Sharon Lockhart)F1ghting Looks Different 2 Me Now (Fox Maxy)Fata Morgana (Tacita Dean)Hors-titre (Wiame Haddad)I Thought the World of You (Kurt Walker)Moonrise (Vincent Grenier)The Newest Olds (Pablo Mazzolo)Puerta a Puerta (Jessica Sarah Rinland, Luis Arnías )The Time That Separates Us (Parastoo Anoushahpour)What Rules the Invisible (Tiffany Sia)Gala PRESENTATIONSAlice, Darling (Mary Nighy)Black Ice (Hubert Davis)The Greatest Beer Run Ever (Peter Farrelly)Butcher’s Crossing (Gabe Polsky)The Hummingbird (Francesca Archibugi)Hunt (Jung-jae Lee)A Jazzman’s Blues (Tyler Perry)Kacchey Limbu (Shubham Yogi)Moving On (Paul Weitz)Paris Memories...

“Emily,” a biopic starring Emma Mackey as “Wuthering Heights” writer Emily Brontë, will have its world premiere through Toronto International Film Festival’s Platform program, the festival announced Wednesday.

Platform, which was established in 2015 and is named after the 2000 film by Jia Zhang-ke, screens eight to 12 films from a diverse range of global filmmakers with rising careers. After the screenings, the Platform Prize, an award of 20,000 Cad, is given to one film selected by an international jury. Previous Platform selections include acclaimed films such as “Sound of Metal,” “The Death of Stalin,” “Jackie,” “Moonlight,” “Lady Macbeth” and “High-Rise.”

“Emily,” the directorial debut of English actor Frances O’Connor, will be the opening film for this year’s Platform program. The other nine films selected for Platform are: “Carvão” by Brazilian director Carolina Markowicz, “La Gravité” by French director Cédric Ido, “Hawa” by French “Cuties” director Maïmouna Doucouré, “How to Blow Up...

Toronto announced the 10 world premieres in its Platform program, a section comprised of first-time feature filmmakers and vets whose voices are emerging in the cinematic landscape.

“We launched Platform to shine a brighter light on some of the most original films and distinct voices at our Festival,” said Cameron Bailey, TIFF CEO. “Now in year seven, it’s become a true home for international auteurs on the rise.”

Named after Jia Zhang-ke’s groundbreaking second feature, Platform is curated by TIFF Chief Programming Officer Anita Lee; Director, Festival Programming Robyn Citizen; and Senior Manager, Festival Programming Ravi Srinivasan.

“Eclectic in vision, this year’s selection not only represents all World Premieres of exciting, on-the-rise voices from around the world, but it also reflects the very timely and unique perspectives of racialized filmmakers from diasporic communities broadening the canvas,” said Lee.

Of the ten Platform titles making their world premiere at TIFF,...

The Toronto International Film Festival today revealed the 10 feature films that will make up its Platform section. The festival, which runs September 8 through 18 this year, annually hosts the Platform vertical to shine a light on first-time and veteran filmmakers and their bold directorial visions from around the globe.

The program’s opening night selection is the directorial debut of actor Frances O’Connor, “Emily,” which centers on author Emily Brontë and the years leading up to the publication of her novel “Wuthering Heights.” Notably the selection also includes two Canadian films as well as the latest movie from Maïmouna Doucouré, the director of 2020’s controversial “Cuties.” All 10 films in the program are world premieres.

“We launched Platform to shine a brighter light on some of the most original films and distinct voices at our Festival,” said Cameron Bailey, the CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival. “Now in year seven, it...

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) unveiled the 10 films that will make up the 2022 Platform section, with Frances O’ Connor’s directorial debut, “Emily,” a biopic about “Wuthering Heights” author Emily Brontë, serving as the opening night feature. The “Mansfield Park” actress’ first feature film behind the camera will star Emma Mackey (“Sex Education”) as the storied author.

All 10 films will be making their world premiere at TIFF and include titles from Canada, Iran, France, Switzerland, Brazil and India. Previous films that have debuted in the Platform section include Barry Jenkins’ Best Picture Oscar winner “Moonlight,” Darius Marder’s Best Picture–nominated “Sound of Metal” and Armando Iannucci’s “The Death of Stalin.”

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TIFF 2022 Lineup: Films From Tyler Perry, Peter Farrelly, Sam Mendes and Catherine Hardwicke to Premiere

Along with “Emily,” other titles include “How to Blow Up a Pipeline,” an environmental thriller from Daniel Goldhaber that shares...

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The Emily Brontë movie Emily, with Sex Education breakout Emma Mackey playing the author in the movie from writer-director Frances O’Connor and U.S. distributor Bleecker Street, will open the Platform competition sidebar at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival.

TIFF unveiled 10 features with world premieres for the festival section where international films outside the Hollywood studio orbit compete. This year’s selection includes Brazilian director Carolina Markowicz’s Charcoal, Daniel Goldhaber’s environmental activists thriller How to Blow Up a Pipeline and two Canadian titles: Anthony Shim’s Riceboys Sleeps and Stephane Lafleur’s Viking.

“We launched Platform to shine a brighter light on some of the most original films and distinct voices at our festival. Now in year seven, it’s become a true home for international auteurs on the rise,” TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey said in a statement.

An international jury...

Ten features selected for competitive strand championing bold visions.

Frances O’Connor’s feature directorial debut Emily will open 2022 Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) Platform, the competitive section championing bold visions which also includes Hawa from French director Maïmouna Doucouré.

Emily charts the romantic life of Emily Brontë in the lead-up to her classic novel Wuthering Heights. Hawa, the follow-up to Doucouré’s 2020 Sundance and Berlin entry Cuties, centres on a teenage girl who sets off to get adopted by one of the most powerful women in the world.

The 10 Platform selections feature Subtraction from Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi, the...