THERE IS NO EVIL (SHEYTAN VOJUD NADARAD)
Germany, Czech Republic, Iran , 2020 / 150 min / Farsi & German OV with English subt. / Action, Drama
Four thematically connected stories follow characters whose decisions to carry out executions or not have life-altering consequences.
Devoted family man Heshmat cares for his aging mother, wife, and daughter – but where does he go every morning before dawn? Young soldier Pouya, who has been assigned to the prison death penalty unit, will do anything to escape his military duty: He has been told to kill another man, yet cannot imagine doing so. Javad gets a short leave to surprise his beloved Nana on her birthday. But his plans to propose to her won’t be the only revelation that day. Bahram on the other hand must explain to his niece why he has abandoned his medical career to live as a beekeeper.
At once sobering and heady, Mohammad Rasoulof’s brilliant anthology film offers a humanistic reflection on the exacting social, psychological, and emotional toll of taking another’s life. The four stories that comprise There Is No Evil offer variations on the crucial themes of moral strength and the death penalty, asking to what extent individual freedom can be expressed under a despotic regime and its seemingly inescapable threats.
| Sun | 14/03 | 19:00 | Kinepolis Kirchberg | Farsi & DE OV with EN subt. | Public | https://luxfilmfestfilms.megatix.be/en/HO00003338 |
- Golden Bear for the Best Film, Berlin International Film Festival, 2020 (Germany)
- Audience Award, Calgary International Film Festival, 2020 (Canada)
- Best Film – Narrative Feature Competition, Montclair Film Festival, 2020 (USA)
- Grand Prix, Batumi International ArtHouse Film Festival, 2020 (Georgia)
- Guild Film Prize, Berlin International Film Festival, 2020 (Germany)
- Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, Berlin International Film Festival, 2020 (Germany)
Mohammad Rasoulof was born in Shiraz, Iran in 1972. While studying sociology, he began directing documentaries and short films. After his second film, Iron Island (2005), opportunities for him to shoot films and screen his work became increasingly limited. All seven of his features have fallen victim to the Iranian censorship. In 2010, he was arrested on set while working alongside Jafar Panahi and sentenced to a year in prison. He has won numerous international awards for his work including several prizes in Un Certain Regard at Cannes. Since 2017, he has been officially barred from leaving Iran. None of his films have ever been officially shown in Iran.
- 2020 – Sheytan vojud nadarad
- 2017 – Lerd
- 2013 – Dastneveshtehaa nemisoozand
- 2009 – Keshtzarhay e sepid
- 2008 – Bade dabur (documentary)
- 2005 – Jazireh ahani
- 2002 – Gagooman