A satirical take on the mundane absurdities of life in modern-day Iran, these nine vignettes illuminate the lighter side of enduring under authoritarian rule. Whether choosing a name for a newborn, graduating from grade school, getting a driver’s license, applying for a job, or seeking approval for a film script, if you live in Iran, you best come fluent in Orwellian discourse. Progressing along a rough timeline from birth to death, each story is shot in a static camera angle as a single petitioner negotiates with an authority figure hovering just outside of frame, who is practiced in the language of doublespeak.
Ardeshir Kazemi is an Iranian actor. Kazemi's date of birth has frequently been given as 9 September 1920. In a 2023 interview, Kazemi clarified that this was incorrect, and that he was in fact born on 20 November 1938. He also dismissed the myth that he was the oldest actor in Iranian cinema or television.