World War III (2022 film)

World War III (Persian: جنگ جهانی سوم, romanized: Jang-e jahāni-e sevvom) is a 2022 Iranian thriller drama film co-written, directed, produced and edited by Houman Seyyedi. The film stars Mohsen Tanabandeh, Mahsa Hejazi, Neda Jebraeili and Navid Nosrati. It was selected as the Iran entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards.

World War III
Film poster
Directed byHouman Seyyedi
Written byHouman Seyyedi
Arian Vazirdaftari
Azad Jafarian
Produced byHouman Seyyedi
StarringMohsen Tanabandeh
Mahsa Hejazi
Navid Nosrati
Neda Jebraeili
CinematographyPeyman Shadmanfar
Edited byHouman Seyyedi
Music byBamdad Afshar
Production
company
Namava
Distributed byIranian Independents
Shayesteh Film
Release dates
  • September 7, 2022 (2022-09-07) (Venice)
  • October 6, 2022 (2022-10-06) (Iran)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryIran
LanguagePersian

World War III competed for the Orizzonti Award at the 79th Venice International Film Festival where it won Orizzonti Award for Best Actor and Orizzonti Award for Best Film.

Premise

Shakib (Mohsen Tanabandeh) is a homeless day laborer who lost his wife and son in an earthquake years ago. Over the last couple of years, he has been in a relationship with Ladan (Mahsa Hejazi), a deaf and mute woman. The construction site on which he works turns out to be the set of a film about the atrocities committed by Hitler during WWII.
Against all odds, he is given a house and an opportunity of a lifetime. When Ladan learns about his movie role and the house, she comes to his workplace ask for help and a place. Shakib’s plan to hide her fails and threatens to destroy his chance to be somebody.

Cast
  • Mohsen Tanabandeh as Shakib
  • Mahsa Hejazi as Ladan
  • Navid Nosrati as Saeed Nosrati
  • Neda Jebraeili as Neda Zareh
  • Morteza Khanjani as Farshid
  • Lotfollah Seyfi
  • Hatem Mashmouli[1]

Production

Pre-production

On May 11, 2021, Seyyedi announced that he will not appear in Saeed Aghakhani and Ehsan Zalipour's The Secret of Survival (2022) series because he is involved in the production of his new film.[2] On July 4, it was announced that the title of Seyyedi's new film will be World War III, and its pre-production has been started for a few days. Also, Mohsen Tanabandeh was introduced as the first actor of the film and some of the film's crew, and it was announced that the filming of World War III will begin in September, and it was said that the rest of the actors of the project were also announced in the next news. It was also announced that Namava Internet Broadcasting Service will invest in this project.[3][4]

On September 4, it was announced that Seyyedi has obtained the license for the World War III project, and filming will begin soon.[5][6]

Filming

On October 27, 2021, the actors, writers and crew of the film were introduced and it was announced that the filming has started and is underway in the north of Iran. Some of the film crews have already collaborated with Seyyedi in the films Sheeple (2019) and Confessions of My Dangerous Mind (2015).[7][8]

Release

World War III (2022) was made with the investment of Namava, and it is the first time that the online streaming platform has entered into the production of a movie project, and it is also the second collaboration between Seyyedi and Namava after The Frog (2020–2021) series.[9][10]

On August 4, 2022, it was announced that the film is set to compete for the Orizzonti Award at the 79th Venice International Film Festival.[11][12]

Reception

Critical response
Mohsen Tanabandeh's performance as Shakib garnered widespread critical acclaim and earned him the Orizzonti Award for Best Actor.

With the urgency of a good thriller and the clarity of a fable, World War III is the gruelling but compelling tale of how one of life’s victims learns to imitate his oppressors. Largely unspooling on the set of a bad film being made about the Holocaust, Iranian Houman Seyedi’s sixth feature starts out as jet-black comedy before darkening still further into tragedy, a journey embodied in an absorbing and extraordinary central performance by Mohsen Tanabandeh as the film’s downtrodden hero.

— Screen Daily / Jonathan Holland[13]

Technically speaking, Director of Photography Payman Shadmanfar delivers striking imagery, creating a visually pleasing contrast between the brightness of the red house (one of the film’s main locations), the chiaroscuros of the poorly lit environments and the paler colours of the surrounding forest. [...] Seyedi demonstrates his expert knowledge of the directing craft and the actor’s work through an elegant mise-en-scene and excellent character development.

— The New Arab / Davide Abbatescianni [14]

Accolades
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Asian Film Awards 2023 Best Actor Mohsen Tanabandeh Pending [15]
Asian World Film Festival 2022 Best Actor Mohsen Tanabandeh Won
Special Jury Award Houman Seyyedi Won
Hainan International Film Festival 2022 Golden Coconut Houman Seyyedi Nominated
Luxembourg City Film Festival 2023 Grand Prix Houman Seyyedi Nominated
Middle East Now 2022 Best Film Houman Seyyedi Special Mention [16]
Palm Springs International Film Festival 2023 FIPRESCI Prize Houman Seyyedi Nominated
Stockholm International Film Festival 2022 FIPRESCI Prize Houman Seyyedi Won
Tokyo International Film Festival October 24 – November 2, 2022 Best Film Houman Seyyedi Nominated [17]
Special Jury Prize Won
Venice International Film Festival August 31 – September 10, 2022 Orizzonti Award for Best Film Houman Seyyedi Won [18]
Orizzonti Award for Best Actor Mohsen Tanabandeh Won

See also

References
  1. Ravindran, Nick Vivarelli,Manori; Vivarelli, Nick; Ravindran, Manori (2022-07-26). "Darren Aronofsky, Laura Poitras, Olivia Wilde, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Florian Zeller Take New Movies to Venice – Full Lineup". Variety. Retrieved 2022-09-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. "چرا هومن سیدی به "شاخ آفریقا" نرفت؟!". خبرگزاری برنا (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-09-05.
  3. "محسن تنابنده به "جنگ جهانی سوم" می رود". خبرگزاری برنا (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-09-05.
  4. Roxborough, Scott (2022-09-19). "Oscars: Iran Picks 'World War III' as Best International Feature Submission". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  5. "هومن سیدی "جنگ جهانی سوم" را به راه انداخت". خبرگزاری برنا (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-09-05.
  6. Leah Asmelash. "Here's a look at the 2022 Venice Film Festival lineup". CNN. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  7. "محسن تنابنده را در "جنگ جهانی سوم" ببینید". خبرگزاری برنا (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  8. Grobar, Matt (2022-09-19). "'World War III': Houman Seyyedi's Venice Prize Winner Named As Iran's International Feature Oscar Entry". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  9. "Biennale Cinema 2022 | Jang-e jahani sevom (World War III)". La Biennale di Venezia. 2022-07-14. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  10. "فیلم‌های ایرانی در جشنواره ونیز؛ نمایش دو فیلم در بخش رقابتی و راه‌یابی دو اثر به بخش افق‌ها | پایگاه خبری تحلیلی سینما سینما". cinemacinema.ir. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  11. ""جنگ جهانی سوم" نماینده ایران در اسکار ۲۰۲۳ شد". قدس آنلاین | پایگاه خبری - تحلیلی (in Persian). 2022-09-19. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  12. "WORLD WAR III". cinando.com. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
  13. Holl, Jonathan; 2022-09-07T12:10:00+01:00. "'World War III': Venice Review". Screen. Retrieved 2022-09-07.
  14. Abbatescianni, Davide; 2022-09-07T12:10:00+01:00. "World War III: A definitive and decisive history of rage". The New Arab. Retrieved 2022-10-17.
  15. Ntim, Zac (6 January 2023). "Asian Film Awards: Decision to Leave And Drive My Car Lead Nominations". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  16. Jang-e jahani sevom - IMDb, retrieved 2022-12-05
  17. Brzeski, Patrick (2022-11-02). "Tokyo: Rodrigo Sorogoyen's 'The Beasts' Takes Grand Prix, Best Director, Actor Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  18. "Biennale Cinema 2022 | Jang-e jahani sevom (World War III)". La Biennale di Venezia. 2022-07-14. Retrieved 2022-09-06.
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