Culture

iranintl – Iran has officially selected murky moral drama ‘Cause of Death: Unknown’ as its official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards due to be announced on March 2. Directed by Ali Zarnegar, the 2023 film follows seven sojourners in the Lut Desert in southeastern Iran who face a moral dilemma after discovering …

RFL/RE – Iranian director Soheil Beiraghi almost landed in prison for his latest film, Bidad. Now it’s landed him the Special Jury Award at the 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic. Bidad, which is also known by its English title, Outcry, won the prize over the weekend at the festival, sometimes dubbed as Central Europe’s largest …

Iranwire – An Iranian film director says several crew members have been sentenced to prison and fines over a movie about a female singer defying Iran’s ban on women performing publicly. Director Soheil Beiraghi announced the sentences in an Instagram post, stating that his film Bidaad had triggered judicial action against the production team. The charges included “propaganda activities against …

Iran-HRM – In today’s Iran, words are crimes. The pen, poetry, fiction, music, and cinema—whenever they stray from the regime’s official language and draw closer to the people’s voice—are met with the wrath of the security apparatus. Artists, filmmakers, musicians, poets, writers, and journalists who speak of social realities now face, more than ever, heavy-handed threats, lengthy prison sentences, torture, …

RFL/RE – The awarding of the prestigious Palme d’Or to It Was Just An Accident, the latest film by Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, has sparked widespread reactions in Iran and across the global Iranian diaspora. The accolade at the 78th Cannes Film Festival marks a significant milestone for Panahi, a director long known for his dissident stance and creative resilience in the …

iranintl – Iranian dissident filmmaker Jafar Panahi received the Palme d’Or at the 78th Cannes Film Festival for his film It Was Just an Accident, earning widespread praise from political, civic and cultural figures around the world. The award for his film It Was Just an Accident, hailed as a milestone for Iranian cinema and a symbolic victory for freedom …

iranintl.com – Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday that the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) has instructed the legislature not to enforce a contentious law mandating stricter hijab regulations. “Although I had no intention of publicly declaring this in such explicit terms, the SNSC has formally written to the Parliament, directing us not to promulgate the hijab and …

iranintl – Iranian dissident filmmaker Jafar Panahi won the Palme d’Or for his film It Was Just an Accident at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, using the moment to call for unity among Iranians worldwide in their struggle for freedom at home. Panahi, who has faced imprisonment and a 15-year travel ban for his outspoken criticism of the Islamic Republic, …

Iranwire – Acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof has been named to TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2025 list. The recognition honors his courage in addressing sensitive social and political issues through his work. Rasoulof conceived the idea for his film The Seed of the Sacred Fig while imprisoned for his artistic activities. The film, which depicts the violent suppression of Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom movement, received critical acclaim at the Cannes …

Iranwire – Female singers from southern Behbahan were summoned by Revolutionary Guard intelligence officers, interrogated, and banned from artistic activities. The women – Elaheh Ahadi, Mahsan Ehterami, Negin Mansouri Nejad, Azardokht Taherpour, Ramesh Seyed, Mojdeh Nasiri, and Zolfa Jamashiani – were called in for questioning on April 12. Each singer underwent a body search by female officers before being interrogated …