Venice Film Festival Showcases Two Films Set Against Iran War

22 hours ago 18

September 5, 2026 | 07:11 pm

The Sayyad-4 missile (Bavar-373 system) was displayed during Sacred Defense Week in Tehran. Although it lacks point defenses like the popular Iron Dome, Iran relies on the long-range Bavar-373 and S-300PMU2 systems to protect its nuclear assets and government centers from air threats and stealth jets. Wikipedia Doc

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Venice Film Festival will premiere two films about the impact of the war on Iran, providing insight for audiences as the country's citizens face the ongoing conflict.

“Both films deal with this feeling of being trapped and what do you do when you’re inside a system where there’s really no way out?” said “Falling House” producer Odessa Rae, who is also an executive producer on “Bit of Light,” as quoted by Variety, citing ANTARA.

Iranian writer, director, and producer Ali Asgari presents the drama film "A Bit of Light," which highlights a doctor who loses faith in the future after being arrested by Iranian authorities and his medical practice in Tehran is closed.

The film highlights the impact of political pressure and the realities of society under the grip of the Iranian system. “This Trump guy is threatening to bomb here every day,” says someone who assists the doctor in the film’s pivotal scene.

Then there is Mohsen Gharaei's film “Falling House,” which follows a modest family on the outskirts of Tehran whose home is being destroyed as part of a rebuilding program.

Rae calls these Iranian films the last burst of creativity in the country before it was devastated by war. They were filmed secretly in Iran.

In fact, to get permission to shoot "Falling House" in Tehran, the film's main producer, Milad Khosravi, an Iranian who now runs the production company Seven Springs Pictures in Istanbul, had to manipulate the script given to the government. After shooting for approximately 70 days, the team finally managed to get footage out of Iran just before the war started and did post-production and some scenes in Germany.

"A Bit of Light" producer Khosravi added that they were forced to move the film’s physical production to the U.S. when the U.S. first attacked Iran in February. “We had a really complex situation shooting the film both in Tehran and Istanbul,” Khosravi said.

He hopes that these two films' presence at the Venice Film Festival will reveal the reality of what is happening in Iran.

As of now, Khosravi, Asgari, and Gharaei are living in exile outside Iran and promoting their film's premiere in Venice. Due to the travel ban imposed by the country, they now doubt whether the films can be promoted in the U.S.

Both Rae and Khosravi stressed that no more major films like "Falling House" would be released from Iran due to the crackdown. However, Khosravi will try to bring similar stories abroad to keep the country's film industry alive.

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Politics Take Center Stage at Venice Film Festival

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