“Harnessing daring and memorable performances from Hosseini and Asgari, and shooting even the most despairing moments with empathy, Samadi’s eye is gripping and sincere. As the stakes escalate, the film balances a tragic potential outcome with deep-rooted love, never absolving hatred as a thing of the past and crucially, never submitting to desolation in the face of tyranny.” - Dorota Lech, TIFF
Saturday, June 6, 6:15 p.m. & Wednesday, June 10, 6:00 p.m. | In Farnoosh Samadi’s bold queer love story, BETWEEN DREAMS AND HOPE, trans man Azad navigates the bureaucratic system that would allow him to receive gender-affirming care. The last hurdle is a parental consent form so Azad and his partner Nora travel to a remote village to face his estranged father. The visit quickly grows hostile and following a violent confrontation with his brother, Azad disappears. Left alone in the conservative community, Nora grows more frantic as her attempts to find Azad come up empty and the local authorities are slow to help. Samadi skillfully shifts the tone from character-driven romance to tense thriller as Nora refuses to leave without Azad no matter how dangerous the circumstances become.
Festival of Films from Iran | June 5–11, 2026
This yearly showcase spotlights the innovation, resilience, and humanism of contemporary Iranian filmmakers and acclaimed Iranian auteurs. For the 37th year of the Festival of Films from Iran, we’re honoring influential Iranian filmmaker Bahram Beyzaie with a limited retrospective and presenting a slate of compelling contemporary films by Iranian and Iranian-diaspora filmmakers.
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu