Cinema Rex - Iranian Cinema Podcast

The classic Iranian comedy about a villager named Samad in his first theatrical foray, as he faces off against a team of gangsters who attempt to steal a priceless artifact from his girlfriend, Leila. Written, directed by and starring the illustrious maestro of Iranian cinema, Parviz Sayyad. The movie is available for viewing on YouTube.

A depiction of the off-screen relationship between the actors who play the newlyweds in the film And Life Goes On (1992). Directed by Abbas Kiarostami.
This film is available through Criterion

Two teachers in attempt to recruits wandering Kurdish refugees as their pupils, after the chemical bombing of Halabja by Saddam Hussein's Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War. Directed by Samira Makhmalbaf.

A journalist named Behzad, travels from Tehran to a rural Kurdish village to covertly cover the vigil for a dying elder. 

Based on a best selling video game franchise, young fugitive prince and princess must stop a villain who unknowingly threatens to destroy the world with a special dagger that enables the magic sand inside to reverse time. This film is available on Disney+

Considered by many to be the most famous puppet show for children and all ages. City of Mice (Shahr-e Mooshha) tells the story of a town full of anthropomorphic mice who have to pack their belongings and quickly evacuate their town once news has spread of a wild cat who has arrived and wants to eat them up. The story centres mostly around the students of a shared classroom lead by their loyal teacher. While on their journey, the mice encounter dangerous obstacles and strange allies all while being tracked down by the nefarious cat hot on their tails. (Marzieh Boroomand & Mohammad Ali Talebi, 1986) Available to watch for free on YouTube. 

Based on a story from One Thousand and One Nights, and set in a popular theatre troupe; the story follows the death of an actor, who is killed by two of his colleagues in an accidental, farcical bout of horseplay, and the brilliantly elaborate gags and misunderstandings that abound in subsequent attempts to dispose of his body in this ensemble comedy.

A married couple Nader and Simin are faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease. After hiring a young woman to take care of his father, a difficult situation snowballs and Nader finds himself entangled in a web of lies, manipulation and public confrontations. (Asghar Farhadi, 2011) Available for rent on Amazon Prime and Youtube.

A director and his son return to a region damaged by the Guilan earthquake, hoping to find the children who appeared in his film a few years earlier. (Abbas Kiarostami, 1992) - The film can be watched on the Criterion Channel with subtitles, and on YouTube without subtitles. 

Based on the true story of Iranian's infamous 'Spider Killer', a journalist descends into the dark underbelly of the Iranian holy city of Mashhad as she investigates the serial killings of sex workers by the so called "Spider Killer", who believes he is cleansing the streets of sinners, (Ali Abbasi, 2022). Available for rent on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, MUBI and streaming on Netflix(US)