046 - Persepolis (ft. Kaveh Taherian)
A precocious and outspoken Iranian girl grows up during the Islamic Revolution. Written & Directed by Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud
Jul 03, 2025•1 hr 52 min•Ep. 46
Cinema Rex - Iranian Cinema Podcast
From Kiarostami to Abbasi, from Farrokhzad to Amirpour. From pre-revolutionary cinema to modern times. Join Iranian-Canadian filmmakers Kaveh Mohebbi and Faran Moradi (a screenwriter and a director) as they embark on a crash-course on all that Iranian cinema has to offer episode-to-episode one film at a time.
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Episodes
045 - Ashkan, the Charmed Ring and Other Stories
Two inept and unlucky blind men attempt a jewelry store robbery, setting off a chain of absurd, interwoven misadventures in a dryly comic tale about chance, failure, and the invisible threads between people. Written & Directed by Shahram Mokri
Jun 19, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 45
044 - Dead End
After days of observing a mysterious man loitering outside her home, a young woman attempts to win this stranger's heart. Written and Directed by Parviz Sayyad
Jun 05, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 44
043 - The Salesman
While Ranaa and Emad, a married couple, are participating in a production of "Death of a Salesman," she is assaulted in their new home, which leaves him determined to find the perpetrator over his wife's traumatized objections. Written and Directed by Asghar Farhadi.
May 22, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 43
042 - Brick and Mirror
After Hashem finds an abandoned baby in the backseat of his taxi, he and his girlfriend, Taji, must decide the fate of this child. Written and Directed by Ebrahim Golestan
May 08, 2025•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 42
041 - Chess of the Wind
A hypnotically stylized murder mystery awash in period atmosphere, unfolds inside a candlelit mansion, where a web of greed, violence, and betrayal ensnares potential heirs as they vie for control of their matriarch’s estate. Directed by Mohammad Reza Aslani
Apr 24, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 41
040 - Hollywood Hitjobs: Argo (ft. Tehran)
Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979. Directed by Ben Affleck This film is available on Prime Video and Crave
Apr 10, 2025•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 40
039 - The Lizard
A recently jailed petty thief disguises as a Mullah and succeeds in escaping; but has to stay in the Mullah' role longer than he expected. Directed by Kamal Tabrizi
Mar 27, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 39
038 - Hamoun (ft. Mehrtash Mohit)
Hamoon's wife is leaving him. He is also unsuccessfully trying to finish his Ph. D. thesis. He is forced to reexamine his life. In a series of flashbacks and dreams, Hamoon tries to figure out what he did wrong. Written and Directed by Dariush Mehrjui.
Mar 13, 2025•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 38
037 - Samad Goes to School (ft. Agha Navid)
Samad and the other villagers attend school so that they can learn to read, when a gang of drug smugglers infiltrate their class resulting in a hilarious slapstick confrontation between the villagers and the gangsters. This movie is available on YouTube. Directed by Parviz Sayyad.
Feb 27, 2025•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 37
036 - My Favourite Cake
Seventy-year-old Mahin, solitary until now, chooses to revive her love life. A chance encounter becomes an unforgettable evening. Directed by Maryam Moghadam & Behtash Sanaeeha
Feb 17, 2025•52 min•Ep. 36
035 - Salam Cinema
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of film, Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf advertises an open casting for his next movie. However when hundreds of people show up, he decides to make a movie about the casting of these would-be actors. Directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf. This film is available for rental on Vimeo.
Jan 31, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 35
034 - Shorts: Motherland, Empty Your Pockets, Retouch, I Am Trying to Remember (ft. Afra Nariman) + Arian Moayed and Jasmin Mozaffari Interviews
Our first short films special where we dive into films by Pegah Ahangarani, Kaveh Mazaheri, Tara Aghdashloo & Jasmin Mozaffari. This episode also includes special interviews with Jasmin Mozaffari and Arian Moayed.
Jan 16, 2025•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 34
033 - The Seed of the Sacred Fig (ft. Noura Alavi)
Investigating judge Iman grapples with paranoia amid political unrest in Tehran. When his gun vanishes, he suspects his wife and daughters, imposing draconian measures in an attempt to uncover the truth. Spoilers from 00:33:46 - 01:17:11
Jan 02, 2025•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 33
032 - Joonam (ft. Jasmin Mozaffari) + Arian Moayed and Sierra Urich Interviews
A young filmmaker delves into her mother and grandmother's complicated pasts, and her own fractured Iranian identity. This episode also features interviews with the Director of the film, Sierra Urich, and Executive Producer Arian Moayed.
Dec 12, 2024•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 32
031 - Ten
A visual social examination in the form of ten conversations between a driving woman and her various pick-ups and hitchhikers. A film by Mania Akbari and Abbas Kiarostami.
Nov 28, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 31
030 - Hollywood Hitjobs: House of Sand and Fog (ft. Rob Michaels)
After losing her house due to a taxing error, reformed addict Kathy Nicolo begins to harass the new owners of the house - Iranian immigrant Massoud Amir Behrani, along with his wife and son. Based on the novel by Andre Dubus III. Directed by Vadim Perelman This film is available for digital purchase and rental.
Nov 14, 2024•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 30
029 - A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (ft. Seena Haddad)
In the Iranian ghost-town Bad City, a place that reeks of death and loneliness, the townspeople are unaware they are being stalked by a lonesome vampire. Directed by Ana Lily Amirpour. This film is available for digital rental and purchase in the U.S, U.K. and Canada.
Oct 31, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 29
028 - Under the Shadow
Our first Halloween Special! As a mother and daughter struggle to cope with the terrors of the post-revolution, war-torn Tehran of the 1980s, a mysterious evil begins to haunt their home. Directed by Babak Anvari. This movie can be found on Netflix in most territories.
Oct 17, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 28
027 - The Stranger and The Fog
A boat drifts onto the shore of a small village, which the beautiful Rana hopes the has brought back her husband, who disappeared a year ago out on the sea. But the only passenger is Ayat, a wounded stranger with no memory of how he ended up in this land. After gradually proving himself as a member of the community, Ayat grows increasingly paranoid about wraiths from a forgotten past. Directed by Bahram Beyzaie
Oct 03, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 27
026 - Downpour
When he takes a job as a schoolteacher in a new neighborhood, the hapless intellectual Mr. Hekmati finds that he is a fish out of water. Directed by Bahram Beyzaie
Sep 19, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 26
025 - Baran (ft. Aisha Jamal)
In a building site in present-day Tehran, Lateef, a 17-year-old Azeri worker is irresistibly drawn to Rahmat, a young Afghan worker. The revelation of Rahmat's secret changes both of their lives. Directed by Majid Majidi.
Aug 29, 2024•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 25
024 - Leila's Brothers
Leila, who has spent her entire life caring for her family, hatches a plan to help her struggling brothers - but she might have to cross her parents to do it. Directed by Saeed Roustayi. This movie can be found in select local cinemas.
Aug 15, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 24
023 - King of the Hearts (ft. Tara Grammy)
A blind woman's daughter befriends a famous singer who decides to help them in life, but unbeknownst to either party, is how they're all truly connected... Directed by Mohamad Ali Fardin. This movie can be found on DVD through Pars Video, and on YouTube.
Aug 01, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 23
022 - There Is No Evil
The four stories that are variations on the crucial themes of moral strength and the death penalty that ask to what extent individual freedom can be expressed under a despotic regime and its seemingly inescapable threats. Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof. This movie can be found on Apple TV in the USA.
Jul 18, 2024•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 22
021 - Offside
The struggle of women in a country that excludes them from entering stadiums. This episode also features an interview with Morvarid Sadinejad Directed by Jafar Panahi. This movie can be found on Apple TV in Canada, as well as Prime and Apple TV in the USA.
Jul 04, 2024•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 21
020 - Hollywood Hitjobs: Not Without My Daughter (feat. Sima Sepehri)
An American woman trapped in Islamic Iran by her brutal husband must find a way for her and her daughter to escape. This film is available to view on Prime Video.
Jun 20, 2024•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 20
019 - Bashu, The Little Stranger (ft. Rouzbeh Heydari) + Alex Eskandarkhah Interview
An Iranian boy is lost after fleeing home for his life; his family has been killed during the Iran-Iraq war. He's saved and trained by a middle-aged woman. This episode also features an interview with Alex Eskandarkhah with the Collective for Black Iranians. Directed by Bahram Beyzaie. This movie can be found on YouTube.
Jun 06, 2024•1 hr 52 min•Ep. 19
018 - Taste of Cherry (ft. Alex Eskandarkhah)
An Iranian man drives his car in search of someone who will quietly bury him under a cherry tree after he takes his own life. Directed by Abbas Kiarostami This film is available through the Criterion Channel
May 16, 2024•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 18
017 - Hit the Road
Follows a chaotic, tender family that is on a road trip across a rugged landscape and fussing over the sick dog and getting on each others' nerves. Only the mysterious older brother is quiet. Directed by Panah Panahi. This film is available through Prime Video in Canada, Pramount+, Apple TV+ and Showtime in the USA, and Channel 4 in the UK.
May 02, 2024•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 17
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