Rehearsals for a Revolution (Dutch Premiere)– Directed by Pegah Ahangarani
In five compelling portraits of people close to her heart, Iranian filmmaker and actor Pegah Ahangarani interweaves her life story with that of Iran. From the courageous work of her father, who documented the 1979 revolution on 8mm film, to her own phone recordings of the protests in 2009 and the recent, raw footage of the streets of Tehran during the war that broke out this year, each chapter—about her father, her uncle, a beloved teacher, a close friend, and finally her newborn daughter—represents a generation resisting the regime. The film moves constantly between hope and despair.
Screening: 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21 November 2026. Info. & Ticket: (IDFA)
(Language: Persian, Subtitles: English)
Elegy for the Forgotten, on an Endless War (Dutch Premiere) — Bani Khoshnoudi
“We only wanted to live our lives, they only wanted our death.” An off-screen voice reflects on the illegal wars declared on Iran, just weeks after the Iranian regime’s massacre of protesters in January this year. Images taken from the internet show an endless succession of body bags. Elegy for the Forgotten, on an Endless War is a lament for those killed and for the forgotten dead of the past, including the half a million Iranians killed in the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988), represented through archival photographs of the victims and footage of cemeteries.
The regime continues to use bloodshed to justify its ruthless repression, all the while fueling an endless war of imagery. It has deployed propaganda photographs and films to justify its legitimacy for 47 years. Now, too, during the war with Israel and the United States, the propaganda machine is working overtime. Screening: 13, 15, 18, 20, 21 November 2026. Info & Ticket: (IDFA)
Ãsheghetam – Filmsaaz
Two queer lovers escape into a dream world of their own after an underground rave in the theocratic city of Tehran is broken up by the morality police. But escapism can only take you so far, and the oppressors can never be shut out completely. Ãsheghetam (“I love you”) is a kaleidoscopic film where computer animation, fiction, and documentary are woven together into an expressionistic cry of vitality. Info & Ticket: (IDFA)
Dreams of the Wild Oaks (European Premiere) — By Marjan Khosravi
Against the snowy peaks of the mountains of southwestern Iran, the girl in a turquoise headscarf immediately stands out. She is 13-year-old Samaneh, a Bakhtiari nomad who dreams of studying and longs to explore the world. But when her father is accused of murder, it threatens to bring her childhood to an abrupt end. The victim’s tribe demands compensation based on an ancient tradition: marriage as blood money. Info & Ticket: (IDFA)
Ghazal-e Sorkh (Dutch Premiere) – Maryam Tafakory
To the rhythm of an eerie soundtrack, Maryam Tafakory blends fragments from the film “Flame of Persia” together with disturbing news footage. She also pairs Welles’ bombastic narration with images from a banned film about Iran’s oil industry. Poetry becomes an act of resistance in this layered film essay, which interweaves personal, national, and international histories. Info & Ticket: (IDFA)