Zalava Explained

Director:	Arsalan Amiri
Producer:	Rouhollah Baradari Samira Baradari
Starring:	Navid Pourfaraj Pouria Rahimi Sam Hoda Zeinolabedin
Cinematography:	Mohammad Rasouli
Editing:	Emad Khodabakhsh
Music:	Ramin Kousha
Studio:	Touba Films Farabi Cinema Foundation Evar Film Studio KOFIC Göteborg Film Fund Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum
Distributor:	LevelK Khaneh Film
Runtime:	93 minutes
Country:	Iran
Language:	Persian Kurdish

Zalava (Persian: زالاوا‎) is a 2021 Iranian horror drama film directed by Arsalan Amiri and written by Amiri, Ida Panahandeh and Tahmineh Bahramalian.^{[1] [2]} The film screened for the first time at the 39th Fajr Film Festival and earned 6 nominations and received 4 awards.^{[3] [4]}

Cast

• Navid Pourfaraj as Sergeant Masoud Ahmadi
• Pouria Rahimi Sam as Amardan
• Hoda Zeinolabedin as Malihe
• Baset Rezaei as Younes
• Fereydoun Hamedi as Amous
• Shahou Rostami as Khalaj
• Mahsa Hejazi as Khalaj's daughter
• Leila Beigi as Leila
• Zahed Zandi as Sergeant Amini
• Saleh Rahimi as Arhim
• Hadi Ahmadi as Soldier
• Darioush Karim Raouf as Zalava People
• Salar Zarei as Zalava People
• Masoud Beigi as Zalava People
• Kordowan Boustan as Musician
• Varya Amini as Zalava People
• Asad Houshman as Zalava People
• Azin Kananian as Zalava People
• Romina Haji Hosseini as Zalava People
• Narin Malek as Zalava People
• Keyvan Sheikh Ahmadi as Zalava People

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 89% based on 17 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10.

— Variety / Alissa Simon^[5]

— Haft / Massoud Farasati^[6]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
2021	Fajr Film Festival	Best Supporting Actor	Pouria Rahimi Sam		^[7]
		Best Cinematography	Mohammad Rasouli
		Best First Film	Arsalan Amiri
		Best Screenplay	Arsalan Amiri, Ida Panahandeh and Tahmineh Bahramalian
		Best Film	Zalava
		Best Director	Arsalan Amiri
		Best Actor	Navid Pourfaraj
		Sound Recording	Rshid Daneshman
		Sound Editing	Amir Hossein Ghasemi
		Costume Design	Mohammad Hossein Karami
2021	Venice International Film Festival	Grand Prize Venice International Critics' Week	Arsalan Amiri
		FIPRESCI Prize (Parallel Sections)	Arsalan Amiri
2021	São Paulo International Film Festival	New Directors Competition (Best Film)	Arsalan Amiri
2021	Fantastic Fest	Next Wave (Best Film)	Arsalan Amiri
2021	Duhok International Film Festival	Best Director of a Kurdish Feature Film	Arsalan Amiri
		Best Actor of a Kurdish Feature Film
2022	Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association	Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Pouria Rahimi Sam
		Best Sound	Rashid Daneshmand, Amir Hossein Ghasemi
		Best Creativity and Talent (first filmmakers)	Arsalan Amiri

References

1. Web site: Zalava. 2021-11-15. LevelK ApS Film Sales. en.
2. Web site: 2021-09-10. پخش بین‌المللی "زالاوا" به کمپانی دانمارکی رسید. 2021-11-15. ایسنا. fa.
3. Web site: .: Iranian Movie DataBase فيلم زالاوا :.. 2021-11-15. www.sourehcinema.com.
4. Web site: 2021-02-10. معرفی برندگان سیمرغ بلورین سی و نهمین جشنواره فیلم فجر. 2021-11-15. خبرآنلاین. fa.
5. Web site: Simon. Alissa. 2021-09-10. ‘Zalava’ Review: Scientific Beliefs Clash With Superstition in Iranian Horror Entry. 2021-11-15. Variety. en-US.
6. Web site: 2021-02-05. فیلمی که باعث تعجب مسعود فراستی شد!. 2021-11-15. خبرآنلاین. fa.
7. Web site: 2021-02-10. اسامی کامل برگزیدگان جشنواره فیلم فجر ۳۹ + لیست و جزئیات. 2021-11-15. ایمنا. fa.