Latest in Iran

UPDATE: President Joe Biden condemned Iran’s air attack on Israel “in the strongest possible terms,” and said that he will speak with G7 leaders on Sunday to coordinate a “united diplomatic response.” “My team will engage with their counterparts across the region.  And we will stay in close touch…

Mahin’s friend Pouran likes talking about her ailments, real and imagined. More than that, she has something on her phone she is keen to show the ladies gathered for one of their regular lunches at Mahin's place: the film she made of her colonoscopy. "That's disgusting," snorts Mahin (Lily Farhadpour). "I…

Iranian filmmakers Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghadam's new feature My Favourite Cake world premieres at the Berlinale on Friday but the directors are not at the festival having been slapped with a travel ban by Iran's authoritarian Islamic Republic regime. Their absence was marked at the press…

The Berlin Film Festival has put out a statement in support of Iranian filmmakers Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, whose feature My Favourite Cake is due to compete for the Golden Bear at the 74th edition. In a release bannered "Call for Freedom Of Movement, Freedom Of Expression for…

Iranian directors Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghadam, whose last collaboration Ballad Of A White Cow made waves on the festival circuit, have been banned from travel and face a trial in relation to their upcoming film My Favourite Cake. The pair discovered they were subject to a travel ban at…

Updated November 2… Fears are growing for the health of detained Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh following fresh details of the violent circumstances of her arrest and current physical condition. Sotoudeh was among several women who were arrested at the funeral in Tehran on Sunday of…

Fans of the celebrated Iranian film director Dariush Mehrjui have woken to the shocking news of his murder at home by an unknown assailant. He was 83. State media reported Sunday that Mehrjui and his wife Vehideh Mohammadifar were both stabbed to death inside their home in a suburb west of the…

Dissident Iranian film professionals are calling on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to consider an alternative film to represent Iran in 2024 Oscars’ Best International Feature Film category rather than the one submitted this week as the country's official entry. Related…

Iran has submitted Reza Mirkarimi's The Night Guardian for Best International Film category at the 96th Academy Awards, in a move that will likely prompt pushback from the country's dissident film community. A press release announcing the selection said the film had been selected by the…

UPDATED, 8:47 AM: Following the arrest in Iran of Leila’s Brothers filmmakers Saeed Roustayi and Javad Noruzbegi, who screened their family drama at Cannes last year without government approval, Martin Scorsese has shared a petition on social with hopes to “bring justice” to the duo. “Please sign and…

Iranian filmmaker Ali Ahmadzadeh clinched the Golden Leopard in the main international competition of the 76th Locarno Film Festival with his latest feature Critical Zone (Mantagheye Bohrani). Ahmadzadeh was not in attendance to receive the award as he is currently banned from leaving his native…

Filmmaker Ali Ahmadzadeh is under pressure from Iranian authorities to pull his latest feature Critical Zone from Locarno's Main Competition after he was summoned to the country’s Ministry of Security. The pic, set to debut in Locarno, is described as "an artistic reflection on the anger and the rage…