Zurich to showcase Iranian ‘Underwater Cypress’

The Iranian Film Festival Zurich in Switzerland (IFFZ) has scheduled to screen ‘Underwater Cypress’.

Directed by Mohammad-Ali Bashe-Ahangar and produced by Seyyed-Hamed Hosseini, the movie tells the story of a group of Iranian minorities who were among the country's unknown martyrs.

Jahanbakhsh Keramat is hiding a secret, which if revealed will be the cause of many sleepless nights for certain people.

In order to prove his innocence and restore the peace, Jahanbakhsh embarks on a long journey; one that will change their destinies.

Written by Bashe-Ahangar, the film features actors such as Babak Hamidiyan, Massoud Rayegan, Reza Behboudi, Mina Sadati, Houman Barqnavard, Setareh Eskandari, Shahram Haqiqatdoust, Homayoun Ershadi and Farrokh Nemati.

It has gone on public screens in Turkey, Lebanon, and Iran, as well as global events such as the 36th Fajr Film Festival in Iran, the 40th Durban International Film Festival in South Africa, and the 12th Sofia MENAR International Film Festival in Bulgaria.

ifilm website has published an exclusive report on ‘Underwater Cypress’, interviewing with the director, the producer, and the actors Ershadi and Nemati. Click here to watch the report.

The IFFZ aims to fill the cultural gap between Iranians and Swiss as well as the many foreigners living in Switzerland.

The event defines itself as “A Platform for presenting the Iranian culture and tradition and for building a bridge between different cultures by the means of the universal language of art and especially the 7th art, cinema”.

This edition of the festival will be held online on May 28-June 03, 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The event is also slated to screen ‘Beloved’ by Yasser Talebi, ‘Castle of Dreams’ by Reza Mirkarimi and ‘Short Wave’ by Mohammad Esmaeeli, ‘Dissect’ by Siavash Shahabi, Masoud Bakhshi’s ‘Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness’, ‘Pedovore’ by Mohammad Kart, Qasideh Golmakani’s ‘Violet’, ‘Zero Floor’ by Ebrahim Ebrahimian, and ‘Hava, Maryam, Ayesha’ by Afghan director Sahraa Karimi.

MG/AG