World War III

Jang-e Jahani Sevom

63rd TIFF: Greek Premiere

Shakib is a homeless day laborer who never got over the loss of his wife and son in an earthquake years ago. The construction site on which he works today turns out to be the set of a film about the atrocities committed by Hitler during WWII. Against all odds, he is given a movie role, a house, and a chance at being somebody. But even though the film is meant to deliver a harsh critique of dictatorships, the filmmakers themselves turn into tyrants who would do anything to achieve their goals. Shakib turns irreversibly into a terrifying monster... Reiterating one of Mark Twain’s most famous quotes (“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes”) and alluding to an obscure saying by Hana Arendt (“in dictatorships, everything goes well up until 15 minutes before total collapse”), one of the most prolific figures in Iranian cinema delivers a multi-layered, self-reflective comment on making myth or history, on the boundaries of authorship and authority.

Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.


Direction: Houman Seyedi
Script: Houman Seyedi, Arian Vazir Daftari, Azad Jafarian
Cinematography: Payman Shadmanfar
Editing: Houman Seyedi
Sound: Mehran Malakouti, Alireza Alavian
Music: Bamdad Afshar
Actors: Mohsen Tanabandeh, Neda Jebraeili, Mahsa Hejazi, Navid Nosrati
Production: Houman Seyedi
Producers: Houman Seyedi
Costumes: Elham Moein
Production Design: Mohesn Nasrolahi
Make Up: Mehdi Sayyad
Format: DCP
Color: Color
Production Country: Iran
Production Year: 2022
Duration: 107΄
Contact: Iranian Independents
Awards/Distinctions: Venice Orizzonti Award for Best Film & Best Actor – Venice IFF 2022

Houman Seyedi

Born in 1980 in Rasht, Houman Seyedi is a prolific director, scriptwriter, editor, and actor in Iranian cinema and theater. He’s a well-known movie actor in Iranian film and TV industries and has already acted in 44 feature and TV films and series, including Asghar Farhadi’s Wednesday Firework. He’s running one of the most prestigious film schools in Iran and teaching film acting and has introduced many young actors to Iranian cinema. He made a couple of short films before directing his debut feature film, Africa, in 2011 and has received numerous national and international awards for his films as well.

Filmography

2007 Blue-Tooth (short)
2008 Meter Over the Water (short)
2010 Asghar Peykan, His Wife and A Little More unconventional Life (short)
2011 Africa
2015 Confessions of My Dangerous Mind
2016 The Sound and the Fury 
2022 World War III