AN EYE FOR AN EYE
Tanaz Eshaghian and Farzad Jafari‘s Tribeca 2025 documentary, AN EYE FOR AN EYE, tells the story of Tahereh, an Iranian woman who murdered her husband following 18 years of abuse. One shocking night leads to Hossein’s strangulation and secret burial inside their home. After 14 years in prison and two years out on bail, now Hossein’s family, specifically his brother Bashir, gets to decide Tahereh’s fate – accept a blood money payment or order her execution.
While hearing details from Tahereh, we witness the ongoing negotiation process. Ms. Jabarzegegan, an anti-execution activist, convinces Bashir to lower his settlement demand from 1.5 billion tomans ($36,000) to 800 thousand tomans. But two weeks after the verbal agreement, Bashir dies of a heart attack. His arrangement was never notarized. Now, it falls onto the shoulders of his son, a young man much more influenced by his new grief and the words of his elders. Tahereh and her children are running out of time.
Behind the two families battling for their desired outcome is the initial police investigation and the suggestion that Tahereh hired a hitman. But, not just any hitman, a man the police want to suggest was her lover. This question hangs in the air like a dark cloud, but Tahereh proclaims she would rather be known as a murderer than a whore. That is somehow worse in her community.
Eshaghian and Jafari use the investigative narrative as a thread throughout the film. The film opens with the discovery of the body and the subsequent search for who and how. Crime photos are relatively tame if you are an avid Discovery ID watcher.
The blame game between the families is difficult to watch. The cherrypicking of religious teachings is incredibly infuriating. Watching Tahereh’s youngest son openly show emotion over his childhood terror will wreck you. He has to hear potential donors, the police, the courts, and his religious leaders tell him again and again that 18 years of domestic abuse is not an excuse for murder.
The gender disparity looms large. The patriarchal structure defies humanity. This is not just an Islamic issue. All over the world, women are killed by abusers after authorities do nothing to protect them when they reach out for help. Statistics do not lie. Tahereh says something that sums up their entire journey. “I killed him once, he killed us a thousand times.”
Directed by Tanaz Eshagian and Farzad Jafari
Producers: Christoph Jörg, Katayoun Arsanjani, Joey Marra, Gelareh Kiazand
Co-Producers: Kasper Lykke Schultz, Andreas Dalsgaard
Executive Producers: William Horberg, Zhang Xin, David Cowan, David & Nina Fialkow, Tanaz Eshaghian
With the support of the Danish Film Institute
Editors: Soren B. Ebbe, Hayedeh Safiyari
“An Eye For An Eye” follows Tahereh, a mother of three in Tehran who, after being repeatedly denied a divorce, decided that her only way out of an abusive marriage was to murder her husband.
Under Sharia Law, when a murder is committed in Iran, the family of the victim gets to decide whether to execute the murderer – an eye for an eye – or to grant them total forgiveness in exchange for a “blood money” settlement. The story unfolds after Tahereh has been released from serving her prison sentence and negotiations begin with her in-laws to decide her fate.
“An Eye For An Eye” is a complicated murder mystery, that quickly pivots into a ticking clock thriller as Tahereh and her son race around Tehran to scrape together the money in time to save her life. It culminates in a high-stakes courtroom drama as judgment day arrives, and both sides of the family stand before a judge to complete their negotiation – when they leave the room, she will either be free for the first time in her life or be sentenced to death.
In Farsi with English Subtitles
84 minutes. AN EYE FOR AN EYE AN EYE FOR AN EYE
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It is easy to see why Kat Rohrer‘s Frameline 48 feature WHAT A FEELING played to a sold-out crowd last night. This authentic love story is everything you want it to be. Workplace shenanigans and complicated family dynamics genuinely ground the film. This naturally progressing script has it all.
Fa is a wildly unpredictable woman who enjoys creating things with her hands and bouncing from woman to woman. Marie is a doctor whose husband demands a divorce on their 20th wedding anniversary. When the two run into each other, almost quite literally, they discover an unexpected spark between them.
Caroline Peters delivers laughs and heart in the role of Marie Theres. Proschat Madani gives Fa a firecracker spirit. Both offer depth to roles that could easily remain surface-level clichés. Their chemistry is magic, and Rohrer thoughtfully crafts their characters’ journeys.
The film leans into conversations of identity, both sexual and national, with Fa being Iranian. It tackles inherent bias and standing up for what’s right, no matter the issue. WHAT A FEELING dives into the nuance of relationships and the mistakes we make that either force us to grow or flee. It’s a lovely film.
NO BEARS
Jafar Panahi travels to a border town in order to direct a movie remotely. The actors and film crew are across the border and are taking directions via Zoom. As Panahi struggles to get the film finished he becomes involved with two sets of lovers, two of the actors, and two people in the village where he is staying. Both pairs want to flee to somewhere safe, something that might not be possible
This time out Panahi has made one of his most affecting films. Forget his personal situation, this story of life in a small town and in a repressive country will leave you shattered at the end. Panahi is juggling a lot of balls in the air and manages to manipulate them perfectly. First, we have his situation which is basically hiding out in a small town to make a movie he shouldn’t be making. In showing us what it takes to make his film we see how the small minds of the village express an openness that really isn’t. there This ties into the story of one of the couples, a doomed romance Panahi captures in a photo, that everyone wants to see, but which he deletes and denies having. It seems the young woman has been promised since birth to someone she doesn’t love and that someone needs proof to hurt the girl’s true love. At the same time, the lead couple in Pahani’s film is making a film based on their lives and their efforts to flee to the West. However, the need for official documents complicates things. All of the threads end in darkness for the characters and soul-searching for the audience.
What a knock out world premiere for director Kourosh Ahari. Beautifully lush cinematography (including some early haunting POV shots) props up the richness of The Night. The score adds a layer or jarring dread that is simply gorgeous. While the script skillfully utilizes a number of classic tropes, it is also stacked with a multitude of original imagery that unnerves the viewer from the very beginning. I was thrown for a loop more times than I can count. The heightened sound editing also pushes The Night into next-level scary. The plot will have you questioning your own sanity. Is this a dispute between exhausted new parents? Is this an alcohol-induced hallucination? Or is this hotel housing unwanted guests?
Performances are so strong you will quickly forget that the film is predominantly in Farsi. As Parasite director Boon Jong-Ho so eloquently stated at this year’s Golden Globes, “Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.” This is the most important quote in cinema right now. Kourosh Ahari’s THE NIGHT is a heart-pounding and twisted watch. Santa Barbara International Film Festival is lucky to host its world premiere. This film should be on every genre fan’s radar this year.
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