''There Is No Evil'' ( fa, شیطان وجود ندارد, lit=Satan doesn't exist, ') is a 2020 Persian-language
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by
Mohammad Rasoulof
Mohammad Rasoulof ( fa, محمد رسولاف; born 16 November 1972) is an Iranian independent filmmaker. He is known for several award-winning films, including his first, '' The Twilight'' (2002); '' Iron Island'' (2005); '' Manuscripts Don ...
. Banned in Iran, the film
relates four stories concerning the
death penalty in Iran.
Plot
The film relates four stories involving the capital punishment in Iran.
Cast
* Ehsan Mirhosseini as Heshmat
* Shaghayegh Shourian as Razieh
* Kaveh Ahangar as Pouya
* Alireza Zareparast as Hasan
* Salar Khamseh as Salar
* Kaveh Ebrahim as Amir
* Pouya Mehri as Ali
* Darya Moghbeli as Tahmineh
*
Mahtab Servati as Nana
* Mohammad Valizadegan as Javad
* Mohammad Seddighimehr as Bahram
* Jila Shahi as Zaman
* Baran Rasoulof as Darya
Themes
Rasoulof explained that the film is about "people taking responsibility" for their actions, and that each story "is based on my own experience".
Production
''There Is No Evil'' was directed by
Mohammad Rasoulof
Mohammad Rasoulof ( fa, محمد رسولاف; born 16 November 1972) is an Iranian independent filmmaker. He is known for several award-winning films, including his first, '' The Twilight'' (2002); '' Iron Island'' (2005); '' Manuscripts Don ...
.
[ Recorded secretly, the film is banned from being shown in Iran.
]
Release
The film was shown at the Berlin Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
in February 2020.[
Farhang Foundation and the ]UCLA Film & Television Archive
The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the archiv ...
released ''There Is No Evil'' online from 14 May to 10 June 2021, and it was shown at the Sydney Film Festival
The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize.
the festival's director is Nashen Moodley.
Histo ...
, Australia, in November 2021.
Accolades
*It won the Golden Bear
The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin.
History
The winn ...
at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival
The 70th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 20 February to 1 March 2020. It was the first under the leadership of new Berlin Film Festival heads, business administration director Mariette Rissenbeek and artistic director C ...
in February 2020.[
The director is jailed and banned from leaving Iran, so was not able to attend competitions or receive awards.]
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:There Is No Evil
2020 films
2020 drama films
German drama films
Czech drama films
Iranian drama films
2020s Persian-language films
Films about capital punishment
Films shot in Tehran
Golden Bear winners
Film controversies in Iran