THE DEER Persian Film Fest Screening
Monday 26. January at 20:30 - 22:30
FOMO Secret Cinema, Tbilisi
Masud Kimiai | 1974 | Iran | 2h00m | Original Persian with English subtitles
THE DEER is one of the defining works of Iranian New Wave cinema and one of the most politically charged films produced under the Shah’s regime. Blending crime drama, social realism, and political allegory, the film captures a society on the edge of rupture.
The story follows a wounded fugitive who seeks refuge with an old friend, once a champion athlete and local hero, now reduced to poverty and heroin addiction. Their reunion exposes the economic and moral collapse beneath Iran’s rapid modernization. Loyalty, guilt, and survival collide as both men confront the cost of compromise in a system that rewards submission and punishes resistance.
Kimiai structures the film as both intimate character study and broader social critique. The personal tragedy of addiction and disillusionment unfolds alongside a portrait of systemic inequality, corruption, and political repression. Urban spaces become sites of entrapment, while masculinity itself appears fractured, stripped of dignity and agency.
THE DEER arrived at a moment of intense political tension in Iran. Its depiction of injustice, despair, and class division resonated deeply with audiences and quickly became a cultural lightning rod. In 1978, during a screening of the film at Cinema Rex in Abadan, arsonists blocked the exits, poured petrol inside, and set the building on fire, killing an estimated 370 to 470 people. The atrocity became one of the catalysts of the Iranian Revolution.
More than fifty years later, THE DEER remains painfully relevant. It stands as a landmark of Iranian political cinema, exposing how authoritarian systems hollow out individual lives long before violence erupts in the streets.
Location: FOMO Secret Cinema, Bazari Orbeliani, Tbilisi. A five minute walk from Liberty Square metro.
How to find FOMO: Enter the Bazari via Atoneli St above Carrefour and take the stairs on your left behind the jewellery stand. One flight up. Video instructions here
FOMO Secret Cinema • Bazari Orbeliani, 0102 Tbilisi, Georgia
