Naqi Seif-Jamali

Movies

Modest Reception
This twisted Iranian narrative follows a mysterious couple from Tehran as they distribute large bags of money in an impoverished mountain border town. Beginning as a black comedy, the film's mood transforms as the games played by Kaveh (director Mani Haghighi) and Leyla (Taraneh Alidoosti) become increasingly perverse, as they find inventive ways of humiliating the recipients of the cash. The immorality of the central characters is at times sickening, and their chain of lies is often as puzzling to us as they are to the townsfolk depicted onscreen. What is the relationship between the pair and why are they giving away money to the needy? Modest Reception has no easy answers nor pat resolutions - instead Haghighi takes the viewer on an intriguing ride into the dark recesses of the human spirit.
Canaan
Mina has decided to leave her older husband Morteza after ten years of marriage. Next Monday will be her divorce date, which means her first step towards her goal; immigration. However, the arrival of her older sister, Azar, together with the illness of her mother in law is causing her trouble. To her surprise, meanwhile, she finds out she is pregnant.
The Lizard
Mr. Fazli
The satirical commentary on clergymen in post-revolutionary Iran. While in prison, petty criminal Reza (Parviz Parastui) comes across a clergyman, sparking a plan for escape. Reza dons his new acquaintance's clerical robes and makes a bid for freedom. He soon learns that being a clergyman brings little respect from the public. Reza travels to the outlying villages, from where he plots to escape the country. However, his plans must be put on hold when the villagers accept him into their community and expect him to perform religious duties. Will Reza's prison break transform him into an unlikely pillar of the community?