Iran Showbiz Latest News and Updates

A child genius who attended university aged just 12 years old has now the youngest person in Britain to hold a PhD.

Murtada Elfadl Distinguishing itself from other immigration narratives by telling a story set in an overlooked part of the world, “In the Land of Brothers” introduces two distinctive new filmmakers in Raha Amirfazli and Alireza Ghasemi. Making their feature debut — which landed them the directing prize in Sundance’s World Dramatic competition — the pair follow in the footsteps of such recent movies about the journey to a new land as Mati Diop’s “Atlantics“(which traced African migration into Europe) and “I Carry You With Me” (one of many about flight from the Americas into the U.S.).

The 2024 Sundance Film Festival awards ceremony honoring the best of this year’s lineup in Park City is in progress right now at the Ray Theatre. Refresh frequently as the winners are announced.

The Persian Version, a new film coming to cinemas very soon. The film won the Audience Award and the Best Screenplay Award at this years Sundance Film Festival.Coming from two countries at odds with each other, Iranian-American Leila (Layla Mohammadi) strives to find balance and embrace her opposing cultures, while boldly challenging the labels society is so quick to project upon her.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Totem Films, the Paris-based sales and production company known for arthouse breakouts such as “Compartment No. 6” and “Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry,” has boarded sales on “My Favourite Cake” by Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha. The Iranian writing-directing duo’s latest feature was just announced in competition at the upcoming Berlinale.

Trader Joe’s has a lot of devoted shoppers, and the fan fave supermarket chain just revealed the list of their most popular products, via their annual Customer Choice Awards!

A budget bottle of gin from Aldi has recently been awarded top marks from a prestigious international spirits ceremony.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor September Film has acquired all rights for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg for “In the Land of Brothers,” which has its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section. The film is written and directed by Iranian filmmakers Raha Amirfazli and Alireza Ghasemi. Alpha Violet is handling world sales.

Ubisoft has released a free demo of Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown ahead of its launch next week.Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown is the first new installment in the long-running Prince Of Persia franchise since 2010’s The Forgotten Sands and is due for release on January 15 for PlayStation 5, PC and Xbox Series X/S.Ahead of The Lost Crown’s release, Ubisoft has shared a free demo that’s available now direct from the studio as well as the Epic Games Store.“Dash into a stylish and thrilling action-adventure platformer set in a mythological Persian world where the boundaries of time and space are yours to manipulate. Play as Sargon and evolve from sword-wielding prodigy to extraordinary legend as you master acrobatic combat and unlock new time powers and unique super abilities,” reads the game’s description with the demo offering “carefully selected sections from the game” alongside “early unlocks of time powers and amulets”.This allows the demo to “show the main gameplay features while not spoiling the story”.Ubisoft has also confirmed that progression in the demo will not carry over to the finished game.Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown’s free demo is available now on all platforms! While you download it, come watch us show off never-before-seen gameplay right now on https://t.co/qsHW1TnJRV!— Prince of Persia™ (@princeofpersia) January 11, 2024Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown was surprise-confirmed in May 2023 during the Summer Game Showcase.

A shop assistant caught selling a packet of illegal tobacco has been slapped with a hefty fine.

BreAnna Bell Brittany Snow, Berto Colon, Louis Herthum, Arienne Mandi, and Teddy Sears have signed on to join the Season 2 cast of Netflix‘s “The Night Agent,” the streamer announced on Thursday. Season 2 begins filming in 2024. They join returning cast Gabriel Basso (Peter), who leads the series, and Luciane Buchanan (Rose), as well as previously announced Amanda Warren (Catherine).

Ning Hao’s The Movie Emperor will screen as the opening film of Macau’s Asia-Europe Young Cinema Film Festival, which is holding its inaugural edition from January 5-11. Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 12th Fail, recently a hit in India, will screen as the closing film. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Slow,” Marija Kavtaradze’s delicate romance, won the Crystal Arrow at the 15th edition of Les Arcs Film Festival from a jury presided over by Oscar-nominated Iranian director Asghar Farhadi (“A Separation”). Kavtaradze’s sophomore outing, “Slow” world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival where it won best director.

Siddhant Adlakha Leaning full-tilt into its duology structure, Tollywood action drama “Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire” has a winding, often confounding narrative aimed at building up a sequel, but its maximalist action tableaus always yield dividends. After his previous two-parter “K.G.F.” smashed Indian box-office records for Kannada-language films, director Prashanth Neel employs the talents of ultra-charismatic superstar Prabhas (the star of S.S.

Some 30 film organizations, festivals and professionals as well as freedom of speech NGOs have signed an open letter calling on Iranian authorities to immediately drop all charges against directors Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha as well as lift a travel ban.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor M. Raihan Halim’s “La Luna” will close the 53rd edition of International Film Festival Rotterdam, which has also revealed the lineup of its Tiger competition section, a platform for up-and-coming filmmakers, and Big Screen Competition, a program for more established talent. “La Luna,” which has its European premiere at the festival, is a comedy about a conservative Malaysian village shaken by the arrival of a lingerie store.

International Film Festival Rotterdam has revealed its lineup for the Tiger, Big Screen and Tiger Short competitions. The festival runs from January 25-February 4. Scroll down for the full lists.

Danger is never very far away in Noora Niasari’s confident debut, a deeply personal tribute to a generation torn between tradition and modernity. Focusing on the title character, Shayda hangs on a vulnerable but powerful performance from Holy Spider’s Zar Amir Ebrahimi as an Iranian divorcée hiding out from her abusive ex, who may or may not be planning to smuggle their daughter Mona (Selina Zahednia) back to Iran.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Discovery-owned Eurosport has acquired streaming rights in 54 countries to Olympic refugee documentary “We Dare to Dream” by Waad Al-Kateab, the Oscar-nominated Syrian director of “For Sama.” “We Dare to Dream” is the story of the refugee Olympic team that competed at the 2020 games in Tokyo, which featured stateless athletes from Iran, Syria, South Sudan and Cameroon who swim, run and fight their way to safety in host nations across the world. It’s told through the personal prism of Al-Kateab while she is coming to terms with the reality that she can never return to Aleppo, where she shot “For Sama.” The doc premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June and had an Oscar-qualifying theatrical run at New York City’s IFC Center in October.

For Iranian-Australian filmmaker Noora Niasari, her debut feature Shayda has served as an authentic and honest exploration into her own personal childhood trauma. The film, which is being released by Sony Pictures Classics and won the World Cinema Dramatic Competition Audience Award in Sundance earlier this year, is Australia’s Oscar submission for the Best International Feature Oscar.

Jaden Thompson The 30th Slamdance Film Festival has announced its complete 2024 lineup, including 32 features, 75 shorts and five episodic titles. Slamdance will take place in-person at Yarrow Hotel in Park City and in Salt Lake City, Utah from Jan. 19-25, and online screenings will be offered on the Slamdance Channel from Jan.

The 2023 Academy Museum Gala brought out well over 100 celebrities on Sunday night (December 3)!

John Bleasdale Guest Contributor Freida Pinto took a break from her jury duties at the Red Sea Film Festival to talk to Variety about her career and her hopes for the future. The Indian actor shot to world fame for her starring role in Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008) and remains committed to the breadth of cinema. “I’ve always looked at cinema globally,” she tells Variety.

Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir has made history at the 20th edition of Morocco’s Marrakech Film Festival as the first local director to win its top prize with her hybrid documentary The Mother Of All Lies.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Untamed Talent, a management and production company led by former Mister Smith Entertainment executive Antone Saliba, is launching with the backing of Dubai-based Front Row Productions, a joint venture of leading Middle East distribution companies Front Row Filmed Entertainment and Empire Entertainment. Front Row Productions will provide capital and strategic value to support Untamed Talent’s goals to innovate new business models covering the South West Asia and North Africa region, the fastest-growing entertainment market in the world.

Former Mister Smith sales executive Antone Saliba has launched management and production company Untamed Talent, with the backing of Dubai-based Front Row Productions.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Taiwanese feature “The Mimicry” was named best picture at the first edition of the Cinema at Sea – Okinawa Pan-Pacific International Film Festival. The festival ran Nov.

Nibbling on a popular pub snack could help add years to your life, according to research.

As Omid Scobie's explosive royal book Endgame hits the shelves this week, many are questioning who the British author is.

Donald Trump in an upcoming film titled The Apprentice.According to a Deadline Hollywood report, Stan will star alongside Succession star Jeremy Strong and Maria Bakalova in the film. Strong will play infamous attorney Roy Cohn while Bakalova plays a young version of Trump’s first wife, Ivana.The Apprentice – which supposedly began production this week according to Deadline Hollywood – is being led by Cannes prize-winning Iranian filmmaker Ali Abbasi, best known for his film Holy Spider.