In Competition

THE CHESS OF THE WIND

Directed by: Asghar Farhadi
Production Year: 2021   Country: Iran, France    Length: 127 minutes

Synopsis

Rahim is in prison because of a debt he was unable to repay. During a two-day leave, he tries to convince his creditor to withdraw his complaint against the payment of part of the sum. But things don’t go as planned…

CREDITS

Director: Asghar Farhadi
Writer: Asghar Farhadi
Producers: Alexandre Mallet-Guy, Asghar Farhadi
Cinematographer: Ali Ghazi
Production Designer: Mehdi Mousavi
Editor: Haydeh Safiyari
Sound Design: Mohammadreza Delpak

CASTING

Amir Jadidi
Mohsen Tanabandeh
Fereshteh Sadrorafaii
Sahar Goldoust
Maryam Shahdaie
Ali Reza Jahandideh
Ehsan Goodarzi
Sarina Farhadi

In Competition – Feature Films

In Competition – Feature Films

The Chess of the Wind

(CLOSING NIGHT FILM)
Directed by Mohammad Reza Aslani
Iran | 1976 | 93 min | Unclassified 15+
Language: Persian (English Subtitles)
SYNOPSIS

An unheralded landmark of Iranian cinema, Mohammad Reza Aslani’s debut feature is set during the rule of the Qajar dynasty and chronicles the fallout between heirs when a noble family’s matriarch passes away. Screened only once and long lost after the 1979 Revolution, The Chess of the Wind evokes the work of Luchino Visconti in its sumptuous, refined, and poetic rendering of aristocratic decadence. Featuring a remarkable score by the trailblazing film composer Sheyda Gharachedaghi and masterfully lensed by Houshang Baharlou, with a candle-lit grandeur reminiscent of Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, The Chess Game of the Wind ranks among the great recent (re)discoveries of world cinema.

Restored in 4K in 2020 by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna from the original 35mm camera and sound negatives at L’Image Retrouvée laboratory (Paris) in collaboration with Mohammad Reza Aslani and Gita Aslani Shahrestani. Restoration funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.
FESTIVALS

Cannes Film Festival 2020
BFI London Film Festival 2020
New York Film Festival 2020

The Chess of the Wind

Directed by Mohammad Reza Aslani
Iran | 1976 | 93 min | Unclassified 15+
Language: Persian (English Subtitles)
SYNOPSIS

The matriarch of a noble house passes away, kindling tensions among her heirs for taking over her inheritance. Mohammad Reza Aslani’s debut feature is set during the rule of the Qajar dynasty and chronicles the fallout of a noble family. Screened publicly just once and long thought lost after the 1979 Revolution, The Chess of the Wind is an unheralded landmark of Iranian cinema and ranks among the great recent (re)discoveries of world cinema.

Restored in 4K in 2020 by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna from the original 35mm camera and sound negatives at L’Image Retrouvée laboratory (Paris) in collaboration with Mohammad Reza Aslani and Gita Aslani Shahrestani. Restoration funding provided by the Hobson and George Lucas Family Foundation.
FESTIVALS

Cannes Film Festival 2020
BFI London Film Festival 2020
New York Film Festival 2020

CREDITS

Director: Mohammad Reza Aslani
Screenplay: Mohammad-Reza Aslani
Producer: Mohammad-Reza Aslani, Bahman Farmanara
Director of Photography : Houshang Baharlou
Editing: Abbas Ganjavi
Music: Sheyda Gharachedaghi
Art Director: Houri Etesam
Make-Up: Mehrdad Mirkiani

CAST

Fakhri Khorvash
Shohreh Aghdashloo
Shahram Golchin
Mohamad Ali Keshavarz
Hamid Taati
Akbar Zanjanpour

FEATURE FILMS

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