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Saeed Roustaee’s Woman and Child Opens in France Under Iran’s Censorship Rules

Its release carries Tehran’s formal approval requiring on‑screen veiling, a constraint critics say complicates the film’s challenge to patriarchy.

Overview

  • The drama follows Mahnaz, a bereaved mother in Tehran whose grief propels a quest for retribution, framed as a tense family thriller.
  • French critics praise Parinaz Izadyar’s performance, with Payman Maadi and Soha Niasti among the cast, and a runtime of about 2 hours 11 minutes.
  • Roustaee obtained authorization from Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, filming with actresses veiled even in interior scenes.
  • The film was permitted to screen in Iran last summer and has been presented at Cannes, reinforcing debate over state‑approved dissent in Iranian cinema.
  • Roustaee, a leading figure of a new Iranian generation after The Law of Tehran and Leila and Her Brothers, says his 2023 sentence was suspended yet he still fears imprisonment.