''Delighted'' () is an unreleased 2016

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written and directed by

Abdolreza Kahani Abdolreza Kahani (; born 22 December 1973) is an Iranian filmmaker. He made his first short film, The Smile in 1988. He made his first feature film, Dance with the Moon in 2003. In 2009, Kahani's film '' Twenty'' won the Special Jury Prize and ...

. Starring

Mahnaz Afshar Mahnaz Afshar (; born June 10, 1977) is an Iranian actress. She gained wide recognition in the record-breaking film Cease Fire (2006 film), ''Cease Fire'' (2006). Afshar is one of Iran's highest-paid actresses, She has received various accolades, ...

, Tannaz Tabatabaei, Aida Mahiani, Mehran Ghafourian and

Sahar Dolatshahi Sahar Dolatshahi (; born in October 8, 1979) is an Iranian actress. She is best known for her roles in ''Ice Age'' (2015)'', Istanbul Junction'' (2018)'', The Frog (Iranian TV series), The Frog'' (2020–2021), ''I Want to Live (TV series), I Want ...

, ''Delighted'' is the story of three Iranian women "who want to have a good time" and to attain that end, are doing their best to find rich men for themselves.

Plot

Cast

as Tina * Tannaz Tabatabaei as Bahareh * Aida Mahiani as Nazanin * Mehran Ghafourian as Behrouz *

as Mahsa

Issues

The film is the third of Kahani's to be refused permission to be screened in Iran, after ''Over There'' in 2008 and ''We've Got Time'' in 2014. In the hopes of recovering its production costs, ''Delighted'' was scheduled to be screened in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in November 2017. Kahani cancelled the screening and refunded the ticket receipts after Iran's

Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance (, ''Vezârat-e Farhang va Ershâd-e Eslâmi'') ("Ministry of CIG") is a ministry responsible for managing access to media that, in the view of the Iranian government or the ministry, violates Iranian ...

threatened to ban the domestic release of his next film—the expensive Thai-Iranian production, ''We Like You Mrs. Yaya''—if he refused to comply. "The Guidance Ministry sent a message and 'politely recommended' that the film should not be put on screen despite the fact that tickets had already been sold". All the scheduled screenings in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, the UK,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and

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were cancelled, and hopes of a

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

deal were dashed. According to an Iranian official in late November 2017, " 'Delighted''cannot be screened inside or outside the country" absent a permit to do so.

References

External links

* {{Abdolreza Kahani Unreleased films Censorship in Iran Iranian drama films