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Houman Seyyedi’s darkly comic drama World War III has been named as Iran’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards, set for March 12 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. See the full list of entries by country below.

The film chosen “unanimously” by Iran’s Oscars committee follows the day laborer Shakib (Mohsen Tanabandeh), who after being cast in a movie, must secretly shelter his lover on the set or risk losing her and all that movie stardom has promised him.

Seyyedi, Arian Vazirdaftari and Azad Jafarian scripted the pic, which world premiered in the Horizons section of this year’s Venice Film Festival and went on to win the section’s prizes for Best Film and Best Actor (Tanabandeh). Its cast also includes Neda Jebreili, Mahsa Hejazi and Navid Nosrati.

Parviz Sheikh Tadi, the speaker and a member of the committee in...

There is barely anyone who isn’t rich or in position of power who doesn’t often exclaim “I would never do that if I were in their shoes”, truly convinced to hold a higher moral ground than “them folks”. You can thank this self-foolery for all the irritating quotes and misquotes by big thinkers, shanti-shanti spiritual leaders, and celebrities on social media, the same you can also find on the wall calendars and help-yourself books. Hell is other people, right?

Make no mistake, Houman Seyedi’s 6th feature “World War III” also leans on a quote attributed to Mark Twain which kicks it off, but this one sits hand in hand with the script which fabulously rhymes the events. “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes”, goes the sad quote, gaining more on its meaning with every passing minute of the film. Hell is,...