Iranian Most Valuable Movies Part 5: International Movies
Nearly all films on this list were produced outside of Iran, yet they are considered Iranian cinema due to their creators' Iranian heritage, their focus on Iranian culture, and their predominantly Persian language dialogue. This distinction, while perhaps unique to the Iranian diaspora, reflects the impact of the Iranian Revolution. Many artists were compelled to leave Iran and establish their careers elsewhere, often unable or unwilling to film within their homeland. Consequently, these films, though produced in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, or France, explore themes of Iranian history, culture, and the filmmakers' personal experiences within that context.
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- DirectorMohammad RasoulofStarsSoheila GolestaniMissagh ZarehSetareh MalekiAn investigating judge struggles with paranoia amid political unrest in Tehran caused by the death of a young woman. When his gun goes missing, he suspects his wife and daughters, imposing harsh measures that fray family ties.
- DirectorsVincent ParonnaudMarjane SatrapiStarsChiara MastroianniCatherine DeneuveGena RowlandsA precocious and outspoken Iranian girl grows up during the Islamic Revolution.
- DirectorAli AbbasiStarsZar Amir EbrahimiDiana Al HussenSoraya HelliA journalist descends into the dark underbelly of the Iranian holy city of Mashhad as she investigates the serial killings of sex workers by the so called "Spider Killer", who believes he is cleansing the streets of sinners.
- DirectorBabak AnvariStarsNarges RashidiMia Sinclair JennessMike PollockAs a mother and daughter struggle to cope with the terrors of the post-revolution, war-torn Tehran of the 1980s, a mysterious evil begins to haunt their home.
- DirectorAna Lily AmirpourStarsSheila VandArash MarandiMarshall ManeshIn the Iranian ghost-town Bad City, a place that reeks of death and loneliness, the townspeople are unaware they are being stalked by a lonesome vampire.
- DirectorHassan NazerStarsReza NajiParsa MaghamiMartine Malalai ZikriaIn a small provincial Iranian town, the children work hard to support their families. One day nine-year-old Yahya and his friend Leyla find a precious statue. Sharing a passion for cinema, Yahya's boss Naser Khan (Reza Naji) decides to help them find the owner.
- DirectorSadaf ForoughiStarsVahid AghapourParnian AkhtariSarah AlimardaniThe life of a high school girl in Iran becomes more complicated after her mother catches her in an act of rebellion.
- DirectorAli SoozandehStarsJasmina AliHasan Ali MeteZar Amir EbrahimiIn their desperate search for freedom and happiness, four young people from Tehran, Iran are forced to break the taboos of a restrictive, islamic society.
- DirectorMilad AlamiStarsArdalan EsmailiSoho RezanejadLars BrygmannEsmail, a young Iranian man, is desperately looking for a woman who can secure his stay in Denmark. As time is running out, he falls in love and his past catches up with him.
- DirectorMohsen MakhmalbafStarsNelofer PaziraHassan TantaiIke Aykut OgutAfter an Afghanistan-born woman who lives in Canada receives a letter from her suicidal sister, she takes a perilous journey through Afghanistan to try to find her.
- DirectorNoora NiasariStarsZar Amir EbrahimiMojean AriaJillian NguyenA young Iranian mother and her six-year-old daughter find refuge in an Australian women's shelter during the two weeks of the Iranian New Year (Nowruz).
- DirectorMaryam KeshavarzStarsLayla MohammadiNiousha NoorKamand ShafieisabetWhen a large Iranian-American family gathers, a family secret is uncovered that catapults the estranged mother and daughter into an exploration of the past, and to discover they are more alike than they know.
- DirectorReza AllamehzadehStarsShohreh AghdashlooMarshall ManeshMohsen MarzbanTale of a group of Iranian families, fleeing from Iran to Turkey in order to seek asylum from Turkey to some Western European country or USA. The movie shows the hardship and very sad days that millions of Iranian families have had experienced during 1980's outcome of the Iranian Revolution.
- DirectorsZar Amir EbrahimiGuy NattivStarsArienne MandiZar Amir EbrahimiJaime Ray NewmanThe Iranian female judoka Leila is at the World Judo Championships, intent on bringing home Iran's first gold medal.
- DirectorSoudabeh MoradianStarsMajid AmraiiAbbas HabibiAlireza MahmoudianDOOMSDAY MACHINE (Mashine Rooze Ghiamat) deals with the mentally disabled war veterans in one of the permanent sanatoriums in Tehran. One of the patients "Mahmood" is under the illusion that he has built a "doomsday machine" which can destroy the world by pressing a button.
- DirectorAbdolreza KahaniStarsAdrien MalekiAriane GangiArmand GangiIranian student Emad and a French girl Caroline have been living together for a few weeks in a borrowed flat in Besançon, where the girl has a job taking tourists round the Victor Hugo Museum. Both know that they have no future together, since Emad intends to return to Iran. The trouble starts when Caroline tells Emad that she is pregnant and he, somewhat thrown off balance, tries to persuade her to have an abortion. The girl isn't against the idea, but she keeps deferring. Over the next few days, during which the couple constantly argue then patch things up, something comes to light which sets their relationship on quite a different course.
- DirectorMohsen MakhmalbafStarsTahmineh NormatovaNadereh AbdelahyevaGoibibi ZiadolahyevaEvery day, 10-year-old Khorsid takes the bus to his work at an instrument maker's shop, and every day something unexpected happens.
- DirectorSepideh FarsiStarsAlexandros ChantzisJavad DjavaheryDarya Djavahery-FarsiTehran, June 2009. Amid protests against rigged elections, two generations find shelter. Using technology, they connect with the outside world as an unlikely love story unfolds.
- DirectorKiarash AnvariStarsMahvash AfsharpanahSadaf ForoughiMahan KhorshidiAfter finding out that he has no sperm and can't impregnate his wife, an Iranian man suffers an existential crisis.
- DirectorBabak JalaliStarsLars UlrichBoshra DastournezhadBella WardaA brilliant and misunderstood Iranian writer struggles to pursue his ambitious goal of bringing together Metallica and Kabul Dreams, Afghanistan's first rock band.
- DirectorFaran MoradiStarsSammy AzeroMo ZeighamiNavid NegahbanIn Toronto, lively music, complex textiles, and vibrant colors paint an improbable love story when Badi and Sharon, two young students from divided Persian communities, accidentally fall in love.
- DirectorGranaz MoussaviStarsMarzieh VafamehrAmir CheginiAsha MehrabiMarzieh is a young female actress living in Tehran. The authorities ban her theatre work and, like all young people in Iran, she is forced to lead a secret life in order to express herself artistically. At an underground rave, she meets Iranian born Saman, now an Australian citizen, who offers her a way out of her country and the possibility of living without fear.
- DirectorMaryam ZahirimehrStarsFarkhondeh RavaShiva SinaeeFatemeh BazyarA grief stricken, reclusive, mother and a young newcomer to her village, become intertwined by the pain of the woman's past and the trauma that lingers.
- DirectorSam KhozeStarsMichelle FarivarJessica HendricksonBobak BakhtiariThree women struggle in their social and cultural environments and face unforeseeable crises. Based on true events.
- DirectorBabak JalaliStarsKhajeh Araz DordiMahmoud KaltehAbolfazl KarimiIn this debut feature written and directed by Iranian born Babak Jalali, Frontier Blues features 4 intertwined stories all set in Irans northern frontier with Turkmenistan, a region that has long been neglected in Iranian cinema, interesting not only for its magnificent, forlorn landscape but also for its multi-ethnic population of Persians, Turkmens and Kazakhs. Featuring non-professional actors from the northern region of Iran, Jalalis film looks at fragments of the everyday existence of a varied collection of characters from the region.
