''The Persian Version'' is a 2023 American

comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film directed and written by

Maryam Keshavarz Maryam Keshavarz (), is an American filmmaker, of Iranian descent. She is best known for her 2011 film ''Circumstance (2011 film), Circumstance'' distributed by Participant Media and Roadside Attractions, which won the Audience Award at Sundance ...

. The film stars Layla Mohammadi,

Niousha Noor Niousha Noor () is an American actress of Iranian descent. Career Noor has appeared in numerous TV shows and films, including playing Donya on HBO's '' Here and Now''. In 2020, Noor starred opposite Shahab Hosseini in IFC's psychological thrille ...

Bijan Daneshmand Bijan Daneshmand (, born 16 August 1958) is an Iranian actor and artist based in London, England. Early life and education Bijan Daneshmand was born on 16 August 1958 in Tehran, Iran. At the age of 10, he moved to England to receive his early e ...

, Bella Warda, and Tom Byrne. It follows the struggles of a young

Iranian-American Iranian-Americans, also known as Persian-Americans, are United States citizens or nationals who are of Iranian ancestry, or who hold Iranian citizenship. Most Iranian-Americans arrived in the United States after 1979, as a result of the Irani ...

woman who is often at odds with her family, particularly with her mother. The film had its world premiere at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

on January 21, 2023, where it won two awards, including the Audience Award for the U.S. Dramatic Competition. It had a

limited theatrical release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

in the United States by

Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American arthouse film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloo ...

and

Stage 6 Films Stage 6 Films, Inc. is an American film division of Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions that acquires and produces feature films to be released either theatrically, on demand, or through streaming services. Once a film is finished, Sony Picture ...

on October 20, 2023. It received positive reviews from critics and was named one of the top 10 independent films of 2023 by the

National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered the first major harbinger of the film awards season that ...

Plot

A young

filmmaker named Leila has a one-night stand with Maximillian, an actor who is appearing on stage in the title role of ''

Hedwig and the Angry Inch Hedwig and the Angry Inch may refer to: * ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (musical), 1998 ** ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (soundtrack), 1999 * ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (film), 2001 {{disambig ...

''. She subsequently finds out that she's pregnant. Leila's father Ali Reza has a serious medical condition that requires him to undergo a heart transplant operation. This crisis prompts a reunion of Leila's large family (she has eight brothers). Leila clashes with her mother Shireen and spends time with her grandmother. In an extended flashback set in Iran, Shireen gets married at a young age to Ali Reza.

Cast

Production

Release

''The Persian Version'' had its world premiere at the

on January 21, 2023. It received a standing ovation from the audience. Shortly after,

acquired distribution rights to the film. The film was for a

in the United States on October 20, 2023. It was previously set for October 13, before being moved a week later to avoid competition with the

concert film A concert film or concert movie is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert, by either a musician or a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian. Ea ...

'' Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour''. It is scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom on February 2, 2024.

Reception

On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, 84% of 80 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "A vibrant portrait of culture clashes and generation gaps, ''The Persian Version'' gains added resonance through its spirited specificity."

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which uses a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

, assigned the film a score of 61 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Nick Allen of

RogerEbert.com ''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times ...

called the film "an ebullient rule-breaker" and said it was "one of the most entertaining and moving experiences I've had at Sundance this year."

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Persian Version, The 2020s English-language films 2020s Persian-language films 2023 comedy-drama films 2023 films 2023 independent films American LGBTQ-related films American multilingual films American independent films Films about families Films about mother–daughter relationships Comedy-drama films about Asian Americans Iranian-American films 2023 LGBTQ-related films LGBTQ-related comedy-drama films American comedy-drama films Sundance Film Festival award–winning films Stage 6 Films films Sony Pictures Classics films English-language comedy-drama films English-language independent films