THERE IS NO EVIL

Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof

Virtual Screening at AFI Film Festival

Available to stream Oct 16 – 22

Iranian auteur’s banned drama about enforcement of the death penalty in the Islamic Republic was filmed secretly and smuggled out to the Berlin Festival where it won the Golden Bear

There is No Evil is an anthology feature comprised of four stories of men who are each put in front of an unthinkable but simple choice – to follow orders to enforce the death penalty upon others, or not. Whatever they decide, it will directly or indirectly corrode themselves, their relationships, and their entire lives. The humanistic stories offer insight into crucial themes of moral strength and the harshness of the death penalty under an oppressive regime.

Due to a ban from the Iranian government, Rasoulof wasn’t allowed to attend the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, nor able to accept his award in-person.

Along with fellow director Jafar Panahi, he has been sentenced to jail in the past and Iranian authorities have tried to enforce a 20-year ban to keep him from making movies.

This is his sixth feature film, none of which have screened in Iran. 

RT: 150 min / Color / Germany, Czech Republic, Iran / Farsi with Eng. subtitles

About the Director:

Mohammad Rasoulof

Iranian independent director, writer and producer Mohammad Rasoulof was born in Shiraz, Iran, in 1972. His first film GAGOOMAN (THE TWILIGHT, 2002) won Best Film at the Fajr Film Festival in Iran. Following the release of his second film, JAZIREH AHANI (IRON ISLAND, 2005), he faced issues with censorship laws in Iran, and, as a result, his films have been mostly banned. In 2017, he won the main prize in the Un Certain Regard section for LERD (A MAN OF INTEGRITY, 2017) at the Cannes Film Festival.

“The movie provokes the wonder and terror of what it means to live in a world where every resolution brings new questions, and the prospects that a happy ending might carry the greatest risk of all.” — Eric Kohn, Indiewire

“There Is No Evil” comes across as four films for the price of one, none of its segments anemic, and each contributing fresh insights to the paradoxes of capital punishment in Iran.” — Peter Debruge, Variety

“Not since A Short Film About Killing has a filmmaker produced such a thrilling case against capital punishment, an enraging, enthralling, enduring testament to the oppressed.” — Ed Frankl, The Film Stage