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Critical Zone Mantagheye Bohrani

Ali Ahmadzadeh / Iran, Germany / 2023 / 99 min / Persian

The film was shot in total secrecy, without the permission of the Iranian authorities and using non-actors. It tells the story of one night in a semi-deserted Tehran, populated by lost and suffering souls crushed by the regime that stifles the spirit of revolt. Locarno's 2023 Golden Leopard for Best Film.

cast Amir Pousti, Shirin Abedinirad, Alireza Keymanesh, Maryam Sadeghiyan, Saghar Saharkhiz, Mina Hasanlou, Saba Bagheri, Alireza Rastjou, Maman Pari, Mr. Fred

festivals, awards Locarno 2023

Amir leads a lonely life. With his dog for sole company, he drives through the underworld of Tehran, dealing drugs of all kinds and healing troubled souls like a modern prophet. He navigates the city streets aimlessly, following the directions of his GPS while getting high to escape a town with no future. And yet, on his wanderings he will find the seed of resistance.

“In my new film Critical Zone, I depict everything in the most naked and radical way. I wanted to show that the city is like a big mental institution so sometimes we had to hide the camera. This suspense during production gave the cast and crew a strong feeling of being rebel fighters and I got the most out of the adrenaline in our blood.” (Ali Ahmadzadeh)

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What's On

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Additional Screening

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