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.
Listen on:
Episodes
Thursday Mar 13, 2025
Thursday Mar 13, 2025
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.
Thursday Feb 27, 2025
Thursday Feb 27, 2025
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.
Monday Feb 17, 2025
Monday Feb 17, 2025
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
Friday Jan 31, 2025
Friday Jan 31, 2025
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.
Thursday Jan 16, 2025
Thursday Jan 16, 2025
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.
Thursday Jan 02, 2025
Thursday Jan 02, 2025
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
Thursday Dec 12, 2024
Thursday Dec 12, 2024
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.
Thursday Nov 28, 2024
Thursday Nov 28, 2024
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.
Thursday Nov 14, 2024
Thursday Nov 14, 2024
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.
Thursday Oct 31, 2024
Thursday Oct 31, 2024
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.
Kaveh Mohebbi
Kaveh Mohebbi is an Iranian-Canadian screenwriter who received his MA in Screenwriting at the London Film School (UK). Soon after he was a graduate of the Second City writing program where he wrote and produced the mainstage show. Apocalypse Now, Desert Later. In 2013 Kaveh was invited into the CFC Writer’s Lab, which led to his involvement as co-writer on a number of short films including the Official TIFF Selection, STILL and the Official Austin Film Festival Selection, Life on Juniper. Writing credits include, This Hour has 22 Minutes, CBC Gem's Communist Daughter, Overlord and the Underwoods. Nickeodeon's kids animated Hamsters of Hamsterdale and Season 1 and 2 of Amazon's first Canadian scripted comedy The Lake. Kaveh currently has an hour long detective comedy Sandcastle in development with E1 as well as a half-hour comedy, Laughganistan, in development with Cameron Pictures and Amazon.
Faran Moradi
Faran Moradi is a CSA-nominated Iranian-Canadian filmmaker, born and raised in Ontario. Faran recently made his first feature film a romantic-comedy set in the Toronto Iranian community called Tehranto, which was nominated for multiple CSAs, was shortlisted for Sundance 2021 and won Cinequest’s Best Feature in 2022. Tehranto recently completed its Canadian and American theatrical runs, and is now available On Demand. Faran went on to direct and edit on Emmy Award winning TV shows including Odd Squad, and write and direct the award winning short film Blackpowder and Guilt. He most recently directed 4 episodes of Holly Hobbie (Hulu) and 2 episodes of the upcoming show Dino Dex (Prime).