The Freer|Sackler’s Iranian Film Festival is always an opportunity to see an often-misrepresented country and culture in a different light. AFI Silver is proud to present encore screenings of selected highlights from this year’s standout program. This festival is co-curated by Tom Vick of the Freer|Sackler; Carter Long of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and Marian Luntz of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. It is co-sponsored by the ILEX Foundation. For screenings at the Freer|Sackler, visit freersackler.si.edu/events/films

SLY [MARMOUZ]Tues, Jan 29, 7:15 p.m.; Thurs, Jan 31, 7:15 p.m.This political spoof is a hilarious takedown of former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a religious hard-liner who ruled for eight years before running afoul of the country’s top clergy. Kamal Tabrizi’s film portrays Ahmadinejad as a malapropism-prone buffoon. He lucks into office by accidentally saving hundreds of people from a bomb at a rock concert, and he remains in power only as long as his handlers deem him useful. Famous for his 2004 film THE LIZARD, which shocked Iranian audiences with its story of a phony cleric who turns out to be great at the job, Tabrizi proves with SLY that he is a master at courting controversy through comedy. (Note courtesy of the Freer|Sackler.) DIR Kamal Tabrizi; SCR Aidin Sayar Sarie; PROD Javad Norouzbeigi. Iran, 2018, color, 90 min. In Persian with English subtitles. NOT RATED

A MAN OF INTEGRITY [LERD]Mon, Feb 4, 7:15 p.m.; Wed, Feb 6, 7:15 p.m.With an as-yet-unexecuted prison sentence hanging over his head, Mohammad Rasoulof (IRON ISLAND, MANUSCRIPTS DON’T BURN) secretly filmed this movie in rural northern Iran. This biting critique of contemporary Iranian culture can be summed up by one character’s pessimistic line: “In this country, you’re either the oppressed or the oppressor.” Its title character, Reza (Reza Akhlaghirad), is a Tehrani who moves to the country to live a peaceful, principled life running a goldfish farm. Instead, he finds himself in a corrupt town run by a mysterious company that has designs on his property. A MAN OF INTEGRITY is “an uncompromising drama from one of Iran’s most outspoken directors.” –Deborah Young, The Hollywood Reporter. (Note courtesy of the Freer|Sackler.) DIR/SCR/PROD Mohammad Rasoulof. Iran, 2017, color, 117 min. In Persian with English subtitles. NOT RATED

AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center | 8633 Colesville Road, Downtown Silver Spring

January 29–February 26

23rd Annual

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MOHAMMAD RASOULOF presents in co-production with KAVEH FARNAM A MAN OF iNtEgRity starring REZA AKHLAgHiRAD SOUDABEH BEiZAEE NASiM ADABi MiSAgH ZARE ZEyNAB SHABANi ZHiLA SHAHi

writtenby MOHAMMAD RASOULOF

costumedesign SAEED ASADi sound MOHAMMAD MOKHtARi

sounddesign ALiREZA ALAViAN music PEyMAN yAZDANiAN editor MOHAMMADREZA MUiNi MEySAM MUiNi

director ofphotography ASHKAN ASHKANi co-

producer ROZitA HENDiJANiAN produced and

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co-presented by

3 FACES [SE ROKH]Mon, Feb 11, 7:15 p.m.; Wed, Feb 13, 7:15 p.m.The fourth movie he’s made in defiance of the Iranian government’s filmmaking ban won Jafar Panahi (CRIMSON GOLD, TAXI, THE WHITE BALLOON) the Best Screenplay award at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. 3 FACES is a touching tribute to the road movies of Panahi’s late mentor, Abbas Kiarostami. Playing fictionalized versions of themselves, Panahi and well-known actress Behnaz Jafari trek to Iran’s mountainous northwest to investigate a video of a teenage girl apparently committing suicide. The Hollywood Reporter’s Deborah Young calls the film “charming Iranian cinema at its purest,” and “defiantly modern in its liberal message about freedom of choice.” (Note courtesy of the Freer|Sackler.) DIR/SCR/PROD Jafar Panahi; SCR Nader Saeivar. Iran, 2018, color, 100 min. In Persian with English subtitles. NOT RATED

THE GRAVELESS aka AS I LAY DYING [HAMCHENAN KE MIMORDAM]Tue, Feb 19, 7:15 p.m.Inspired by William Faulkner’s novel “As I Lay Dying,” Mostafa Sayari’s first feature debuted at the 2018 Venice International Film Festival. Fulfilling their recently deceased father’s final wishes, four adult siblings transport his body across the harsh Iranian desert to the remote village where he wanted to be buried. As the temperature rises, the body begins to decompose, and tempers flare as old family secrets and resentments boil to the surface. (Note courtesy of the Freer|Sackler.) DIR/SCR Mostafa Sayari; SCR Behnam Abedi, Hamed Hosseini Sangari, from William Faulkner’s novel “As I Lay Dying”; PROD Abbas Amoori. Iran, 2018, color, 73 min. In Persian with English subtitles. NOT RATED

PIG (2018) [KHOOK]Tue, Feb 26, 7:15 p.m.PIG is a dark satire on artistic egotism from actor, writer and director Mani Haghighi (A DRAGON ARRIVES!, Asghar Farhadi’s ABOUT ELLY). Hasan Majuni plays Hasan, a famous movie director whose career has languished since he was placed on a government blacklist. His favorite actress and mistress (Leila Hatami) seems ready to move on, professionally and personally. Worst of all, a serial killer beheading Iran’s most esteemed filmmakers has conspicuously neglected to target him. (The killer is displaying “no criteria, no sense of stature” in choosing his victims, Hasan complains to his mother.) Out of desperation, the frustrated filmmaker embarks on a plan to launch his career into orbit. (Note courtesy of the Freer|Sackler.) DIR/SCR/DIR Mani Haghighi. Iran, 2018, color, 108 min. In Persian with English subtitles. NOT RATED

Nov. 22-2923rd Annual January 29–February 26