“With brash stylistic exuberance, this first feature from Bahram Beyzaie helped usher in the Iranian New Wave. Shot in luminous monochrome and edited with quicksilver invention, DOWNPOUR captures with puckish humor and great tenderness the cultural conflicts coursing through Iran at a pivotal historical moment.” - Janus
Saturday, June 6, 8:30 p.m. & Monday, June 8, 8:00 p.m. | Written and directed by Bahram Beyzaie, this seminal Iranian New Wave film follows Mr. Hekmati, a mild-mannered teacher who relocates to a working-class neighborhood in Tehran. There, amid cultural tensions and wary suspicion, he is drawn to Atefeh, the sister of one of his students—their fragile attachment unfolding beneath the quiet but unyielding weight of social scrutiny and expectation.
Awards & Nominations
Masterworks Selection - 2012 NYFF
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