Ali Asgari and Alireza Khatami | 2023 | Iran | 77 minutes | Presented in the original Persian audio with English subtitles.
TERRESTRIAL VERSES is screening at FOMO Secret Cinema as part of our "Banned Films Week" festival presenting films from across the globe that have been subject to censorship.
The film unfolds as a series of short, focused encounters, each revealing a different form of pressure faced by ordinary people in Tehran under the Ayatollah's strict political and religious rule. The directors restrained style allows the performances to carry the emotional weight without any exaggeration.
It remains censored in Iran due to its criticism of social regulation and the State's/Ayatollah's authority. The government blocked the film from domestic release. International festivals screened it freely, but audiences in its home country are prevented from seeing it.
TERRESTRIAL VERSES offers a clear and grounded look at modern Iranian life and how individuals are forced to navigate silence, resist and survive. It stands as an important example of contemporary Iranian filmmaking, rich in insight and human detail.
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 immediately on your left behind the jewellery stand. The cinema entrance is one flight up in the stairwell.
FOMO Secret Cinema • Bazari Orbeliani, 0105 Tbilisi, Georgia
