Paris-based Luxbox has boarded Ali Ahmadzadeh’s Iranian-German co-production Critical Zone, set in the underworld of Tehran, and will kick off sales at the upcoming Cannes market.
The Persian-language feature follows a man driving through Tehran’s underworld with his dog, dealing drugs and healing troubled souls.
Ahmadzadeh produces alongside Sina Ataeian Dena in co-production with Germany’s Counterintuitive film.
Ahmadzadeh made his feature debut in 2013 with Kami’s Party, followed by Atomic Heart that premiered in Berlin in 2014 and 2017’s Phenomenon (Padideh).
The filmmaker was arrested in Tehran last year amidst cultural crackdowns in the country. His films depicting rebellious youth and their confrontation with Iran’s theocracy have consistently been banned in the country.
Luxbox CEO Fiorella Moretti told Screen that the sales company was “impressed by the originality of Critical Zone” and added: “Through the eyes of the main character Amir, we navigate through a Tehran that we have never seen in cinema. It’s a pleasure to defend a daring cinema that is not afraid to surprise us.”
Luxbox will also be in Cannes with Mohamed Ben Attia’s father-son redemption journey Behind the Mountains that reunites the director with Majd Mastoura who won the Silver Bear for Best Actor in Berlin in 2016 for Hedi. The film also earned Ben Attia the Best First Feature prize.
The Tunisian-French-Belgian co-production by Nomadis Image with Tanit Films and Les Films du Fleuve follows a man fresh out of jail on a mission to bring his son to the mountains to show him his amazing discovery.
Luxbox has a strong presence at this year’s Directors’ Fortnight with three titles to world premiere in the sidebar including Elena Martin Gimeno’s Spanish self-exploration drama Creatura, Filipa Reis and Joao Miller Guerra’s female trans-generational saga Légua and a newly restored version of Manoel de Oliveira’s Abraham’s Valley.
Rounding out Luxbox’s Cannes slate are Felipe Carmona’s Penal Cordillera and Carolina Markowicz’s Toll.
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