The Pain

On her way back from work, a woman witnesses something happening in the bus. She must decide if she will reveal it or not.

A satirical take on the mundane absurdities of life in modern-day Iran, these nine vignettes illuminate the lighter side of enduring under authoritarian rule. Whether choosing a name for a newborn, graduating from grade school, getting a driver’s license, applying for a job, or seeking approval for a film script, if you live in Iran, you best come fluent in Orwellian discourse.

Fatma and her mother are Kurdish refugees living in Italy. One day at the hospital, Fatma learns her mother has breast cancer.

The film is set around three protagonists. Two run a gas station on the outskirts of town, on a road that gets next to no traffic anymore, and so they get next to no customers. They live and work out of a decrepit van on site, its windows covered in plastic. Sadry is a former strongman, now blind in one eye. He is the boss of the station. Yadi is his eager to please assistant, who usually annoys more than pleases. Finally there is the postman, Abbas, who longs to trade in his brakeless bicycle for a motorcycle, while he must care for his mentally ill brother.

A mother helps an elderly woman in a shopping mall in Tehran. A tragedy occurs, brutally confronting her with the impact of her actions.

A veiled 16 year old Iranian teenager is terrified to take her red suitcase from the carosel at the Luxembourg Airport, and go through the exit doors. Her fear grows with every second in the face of what awaits her beyond the gate.

Bahram, a censored director, embarks on a Vespa trip with producer Sadaf to clandestinely screen his film in Iran, challenging the system.

A woman accompanies her husband for an audition. The thing that happens there leads her for an important decision...

Student Fereshteh has to hide her illegitimate baby for one night from her parents who turn up for a surprise visit. Her friend Atefeh helps her. They embark on an odyssey through Tehran during which they must carefully weigh up who their allies are.

A woman suffers complications after having sex. Her partner takes her to the hospital, but getting help proves to be difficult.

Narges and her friend have just a few hours to find someone to take care of her baby.

On a cold winter’s night in modern Tehran, a couple of young lovers run into a serious problem, and they have just a few hours to come up with a solution. They go from hospital to hospital in search for help, but none of the hospitals will admit the young woman and provide her with the medical attention she desperately requires. While they try hard to find a way to solve the problem, they have to hide what is happening from their parents. Moreover, their relationship is facing a crisis and will suffer dire consequences. Caught between conservative traditions and modern day desires, the couple must face their uncertain future.

Young Fatima holds a secret that could change her fate; she must place her trust in a doctor to make a tough decision between cultural tradition and medical ethics.

After the of premiere of his film Terrestrial Verses (co-directed by Alireza Khatami) in Cannes, Ali Asgari was banned from traveling by the Iranian authorities. But filmmakers like Asgari are not easily deterred from practicing their art, despite unceasing repressive government interference.

A man falls from a balcony onto the sidewalk below. A crowd gathers and an ambulance is called, but no one knows why he fell.

After being arrested and having his medical practice shut down, an Iranian doctor loses faith in the future and resolves to end his life - but one final day among his family begins to unsettle his decision.