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Original name: Shahed
English name: The Witness
Year: 2024
Run time: 100 minutes
Language: Farsi
Type (Colour/ Black & white): Colour
Country: Germany, Austria
Director: Nader Saeivar
Producer: Said Nur Akkus, Silvana Santamaria, Arash T. Riahi, Sabine Grüber, Emre Oskay, Timur Savci
Cast: Maryam Bobani, Nader Naderpour, Hana Kamkar, Abbas Imani, Ghazal Shojaei, Fahrid Eshaghi
Screenplay: Jafar Panahi, Nader Saeivar
Cinematographer: Rouzbeh Raiga
Editor: Jafar Panahi
Sound Designer: Abdolreza Heydari, Iman Bazyar
Music Composer: Karwan Marouf
Costume Designer: Leila Naghdi Pari
Production Company: ArtHood Films, Golden Girls Films
World Sales: ArtHood
Born in 1974 in Tabriz, Nader Saeivar is an Iranian writer and director who started his career in 1992 with short films. In 2018 he was awarded Best Screenplay in Cannes for 3 Faces (2018) alongside Jafar Panahi. In 2020 he made his feature directorial debut with Namo, which premiered in the Berlinale. His second feature, No End, premiered at the Busan International Film Festival in 2022. The Witness is his third feature as a director. He also has a master's degree from University of Tehran and teaches Cinema at various institutes and universities.
In Iran, the retired dance teacher Tarlan witnesses her friend Rana’s murder by her husband, who is an important government figure. When the police refuse to investigate, Tarlan must decide whether to bow to political pressure or risk her reputation and livelihood in pursuit of justice.
