Secret Ballot

Men at Work

January 2006 •Persian

A political allegory on four middle-class guys who pile into their car for a ski weekend. A brief stop at a picturesque vista leads to their chance discovery of a prominent rock formation it seems would be oh so easy to tip over, but...

Terrestrial Verses

October 2023 •Persian

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. Progressing along a rough timeline from birth to death, each story is shot in a static camera angle as a single petitioner negotiates with an authority figure hovering just outside of frame, who is practiced in the language of doublespeak.

A Place of Our Own

March 2014 •Italian

Poverty

January 2009 •Persian

A haughty acclaimed newly married fashion designer named Iraj is shown the door by his boss after the boss's son arrives at Iran to take over his father's company. Iraj reluctant to promulgate the loss of his job, starts using his savings, trying to conceal the truth from his naive wife. Having squandered all the money he had on trivial matters, he tells his wife about being axed & that's when the tables turn on him.

Havoo

January 2006 •Persian

Universal Language

December 2024 •French

Winter. Somewhere between Tehran and Winnipeg. Negin and Nazgol find a sum of money frozen deep within the sidewalk ice and try to find a way to get it out. Massoud leads a group of befuddled tourists upon an increasingly-strange walking tour of Winnipeg historic sites. Matthew leaves his job at the Québec government and embarks upon a mysterious journey to visit his estranged mother.

A Controversial Birthday

September 2019 •Persian

An Iranian film

1st Born

February 2019 •English

Tucker and Hamid are going to be grandfathers for the first time, but only if they can come together long enough to save their first-born grandchild.

Taxi

April 2015 •Persian

A yellow cab is driving through the vibrant and colourful streets of Tehran. Very diverse passengers enter the taxi, each candidly expressing their views while being interviewed by the driver who is no one else but the director Jafar Panahi himself. His camera placed on the dashboard of his mobile film studio captures the spirit of Iranian society through this comedic and dramatic drive…

America

May 2018 •Persian

An Iranian journalist couple wants to move to America to escape the difficulties of their country. The woman receives her visa but her husband doesn't. He stays in Iran and watches his wife find success on television and falls into a state of depression.

The Lizard

February 2004 •Persian

The satirical commentary on clergymen in post-revolutionary Iran. While in prison, petty criminal Reza (Parviz Parastui) comes across a clergyman, sparking a plan for escape. Reza dons his new acquaintance's clerical robes and makes a bid for freedom. He soon learns that being a clergyman brings little respect from the public. Reza travels to the outlying villages, from where he plots to escape the country. However, his plans must be put on hold when the villagers accept him into their community and expect him to perform religious duties. Will Reza's prison break transform him into an unlikely pillar of the community?

Submission

November 2016 •Bosnian

Three friends are hanging out on the roof in Sarajevo. Their hangout is interrupted by the Yugoslavian time traveler who explains them that they are in danger and need to use the time machine to go back to Yugoslavia and warn people that the future generations messed up. They travel back in time to find themselves not in Yugoslavia, but in Iran. Clash of the cultures is evident, and they are forced to hide their identity. But the more they discover the city, the more they realize it is scarily similar to their own.

All Three of Us

November 2015 •French

An Iranian family survives the shah and the ayatollah and moves to France. This story follows the family through it all. Despite the politics, revolution, prison, beatings, assassinations and suicides this is a comedy.

Copsi

May 2015 •Persian

A young couple have problems in their marriage.

You Only Go Around Once

June 2023 •Persian

The peaceful life of the members of the Rabbani family undergoes changes with the unexpected arrival of a snake, the discovery of an exquisite manuscript and a mysterious hole.

Pure Sweetness

July 2016 •Polish

A muffin thief troubles Mr. Baker, so he seeks help from a sleek detective. They agree to catch the thief at night in the bakery in Baker Street.

Occurrences of Questionable Significance

April 2020 •German

When forest animals invade our cities, the world is in disarray. Office vixen Fiona struggles with her banana phone addiction. Will she succumb to it? Temperamental bunny Barbara only gives her stag sugar daddy Nestor his special massage, after he dines her and plays the big spender. This obscure short film pinpoints postmodern tropes of consumerism, eroticism, and art with an homage to the theater stage and references to literature. This work uses a fantasy language and needs no subtitles.

Uncle Pumble

December 2018 •English

The story is about a doll named Amo Pumble who teaches children how to live in society by reading a magic book to children.

Stick Figures On Crack

August 2007 •English

Comedic surreal misadventures starring stickmen

Mohagh

November 2019 •English

A woman attempts to obtain the consent of the victim's family to release her husband from the death penalty, meanwhile, the husband is suffering from brain death.