Saturday, February 8, 12:00 p.m. | Dariush Mehrjui (1939–2023), whose 1969 film THE COW is considered the first film of the Iranian New Wave, has been celebrated at the Festival of Films from Iran throughout the years, attending in person at the 19th festival, and the 8th, with his celebrated 1998 film LEILA. Writing about the film for that year’s festival, Alissa Simon wrote, “A good-looking melodrama about the problems a young upper-class couple face when the wife finds she is infertile and her husband is forced by his mother into taking a second wife. An intellectual who has always pushed the limits of acceptable subject matter, Mehrjui is among Iran’s foremost makers of sophisticated, adult-centered dramas.”

Awards & Nominations

Winner - Best Supporting Actress (Jamileh Sheikhi), Fajr Film Festival
Winner - Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress (Leila Hatami), Best Actor (Ali Mosaffa), Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Hafez Ceremony

Festival of Films from Iran: For the 36th year of our Festival of Films from Iran, we’re taking the opportunity to look back at some of the highlights of Iranian cinema we’ve presented at the Film Center—during the festival and year round— in the last 36 years. Read more

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