Directed by Masud Bakhshi, Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness is about a young woman, Maryam, who has been sentenced to death for murdering her husband, Nasser. Iranian law allows for the victim’s family to forgive her and spare her life, so Maryam’s fate will be decided by Nasser’s daughter, Mona, on the country’s most popular televised reality show.
In front of millions of viewers during Yalda, the winter solstice celebration, Maryam and Mona discover that forgiveness can be difficult as they relive the past.
Mehrdad Oskui is the director of the documentary Sunless Shadows, in which he builds a remarkable relationship with a group of adolescent girls who are serving their sentence for the grave crime of murdering their father, their husband or another male family member in an Iranian juvenile detention center.
The documentary Coup 53 by Taqi Amirani is a decade-long investigation into the U.S.-designed 1953 coup against the government of Mohammad Mosaddeq in Iran.
The International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights, which is one of the most important international events dedicated to cinema and human rights, will be held from March 6 to 15.
Source: Tehran Times