''Woman and Child'' ( Persian: زن و بچه,

romanized In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...

: ''Zan O Bache'') is a 2025 Iranian

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film written and directed by

Saeed Roustayi Saeed Roustaee ( Persian: سعید روستایی, born August 14, 1989), also spelled Saeed Roustayi, is an Iranian filmmaker, screenwriter and producer. His works primarily focus on issues of social injustice, as well as his portrayals of wom ...

, starring

Parinaz Izadyar Parinaz Izadyar (; born August 30, 1985) is an Iranian actress. She is mostly known for her willingness to play dramatic roles, making her one of the most acclaimed actresses of her generation. Izadyar has received various accolades, including a C ...

, Payman Maadi, Hasan Pourshirazi, Fereshteh Sadre Orafaee and Sahar Goldoost. The film had its world premiere at the main competition of the 78th Cannes Film Festival on 22 May 2025, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or.

Synopsis

The film follows a 45-year-old widowed nurse named Mahnaz who is raising her children alone and struggling with her rebellious son. As she prepares to marry her fiancé, Hamid, her son Aliyar is expelled from school. When a tragic accident turns everything upside down, Mahnaz sets out to seek justice and reparation.

Cast

as Mahnaz * Payman Maadi as Hamid * Soha Niasti as Mehri * Maziar Seyyedi as Samkhanian * Fereshteh Sadre Orafaee as Mother * Hasan Pourshirazi as Grandfather * Sinan Mohebi as Aliyar * Arshida Dorostkar as Neda * Sahar Goldoost * Arshida Dorostkar * Javad Pourheidari * Mansour Nasiri * Sinan Mohebi * Rozhin Shams

Production

On 28 August 2024, it was announced that

's latest film, "''Woman and Child''," was in pre-production. On 1 September, Roustayi announced by posting a video on his

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

page that he had written the script for his new film, "''Woman and Child''." On 24 November, the Iranian Organization of cinema issued a production license for the film. The movie will move to a different space from Saeed Roustaei's previous works, and is his fourth film after '' Leila's Brothers'' (2022), which had its world premiere at the main competition of the

2022 Cannes Film Festival The 75th annual Cannes Film Festival is a film festival that took place from 17 to 28 May 2022. French actor Vincent Lindon served as jury president for the main competition. French actress Virginie Efira hosted the opening and closing ceremon ...

. Filming began in December with

, Payman Maadi, Fereshteh Sadre Orafaee and Hasan Pourshirazi announced as the main actors. Roustayi announced on his Instagram page on 20 March 2025 that the production of the film had been completed.

Bahram Dehghani Bahram Dehghani (born November 1954), also known as Bahram Dehghan, is an Iranian film editor. He studied film editing and graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles. He has edited more than 70 movies and won five Crystal ...

was announced as the film editor, post-production work on the film was being carried out intensively aiming a Cannes premiere.

Release

On 10 April, the list of films in the official selection of the

2025 Cannes Film Festival The 78th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 13 to 24 May 2025. French actress Juliette Binoche served as jury president for the main competition. Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the drama ...

was announced, and the film was not selected. On 23 April, alongside ''Die, My Love'', the film was officially added to the festival's main competition for the Palme d'Or, marking Roustayi second film in the festival. It had its world premiere in Cannes on 22 May 2025.

Accolades

References

External links

* {{Saeed Roustayi Iranian drama films Films about mother–son relationships Films directed by Saeed Roustayi 2020s Persian-language films 2025 drama films