Iranian ‘Disappearance’ to go to Venice

Iranian film ‘Disappearance’ directed by Ali Asgari has been scheduled to go on screen at the 74th edition of the Venice International Film Festival in Italy.

Iranian actors Pedram Ansari, Sadaf Asgari, Mohammad Heidari, Amirreza Ranjbaran, Sahar Sotoudeh, and Nafiseh Zare have starred in ‘Disappearance’.

Penned by Ali Asgari together with his writing partner Farnoush Samadi, ‘Disappearance’ narrates the story of two young lovers who go from hospital to hospital in search of help at a cold night in Tehran. Soon they will have to face the tragic consequences of their youthful inexperience.

‘Disappearance’ is the first feature-length film by Asgari, whose short films have competed in Venice and Cannes. The project was developed in the Cannes Cinefondation Residence and received a grant from the Doha Film Institute. It was produced in Iran.

Samadi and Asgari’s latest short ‘Gaze’ will also compete in Locarno film festival this year.

Asgari is an Iranian filmmaker who studied cinema in Italy. An alumnus of the Berlinale Talent Campus 2013, his short films ‘More than Two Hours’ (2013) and ‘The Silence’ (2016) were both in competition for the Palme d’Or at the Festival de Cannes, and both screened at the Ajyal Youth Film Festival in Doha, while ‘The Baby’ competed at the Venice Film Festival 2014.

His films have been screened at more than 500 festivals around the world, and have won more than 100 awards.

Another Iranian film ‘No Date, No Signature’ directed by Vahid Jalilvand will also go on screen at the Orizzonti (New Horizons) section of the 74th Venice International Film Festival.

Rakhshan Bani-Etemad is designated as a member of the jury panel at the Orizzonti (New Horizons) section of the event.

Founded in 1932, the Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia) is the oldest film festival in the world and one of the Big Three film festivals alongside the Cannes Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival.

The 74th edition of the Venice International Film Festival is slated for August 30 to September 9, 2017.

MG/AI