''Popular'' () is a 2020 Iranian film written and directed by

Soheil Beiraghi Soheil Beiraghi (Persian: سهیل بیرقی; born October 16, 1986, in Shahreza, Iran) is an Iranian independent film director, screenwriter and producer. He has directed the award-winning films I (''Me)'', ''Cold Sweat'' and '' Popular'' . He ...

. The film screened for the first time at the

38th Fajr Film Festival The 38th Fajr International Film Festival, Fajr Film Festival () was held from 1 to 11 February 2020 in Tehran, Iran. The nominees for the 38th Fajr Film Festival were announced on February 10, 2020, at a press conference. Jury Main Competit ...

Cast

Fatemeh Motamed-Arya Fatemeh Motamed-Arya (; born October 29, 1961 in Tehran) is a multi-award-winning Iranian actress. She first got involved in theater during her teen years, and received her degree in theater from Tehran Art Institute. She is one of the most signi ...

as Fahime Mirbod *

Hootan Shakiba Hootan Shakiba (; born 14 June 1984) is an Iranian actor. He is best known for his role as Habib Naghavi in ''Bachelors'' (2016–2019) which earned him a Hafez Award. Shakiba won the Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor and his second Hafez Award f ...

as Milad Bodaghi *

Baran Kosari Baran Kosari (; ; born September 16, 1985) is an Iranian actress. Born to filmmakers Jahangir Kosari and Rakhshan Banietemad, she began her career with acting in the films of her mother. Kosari has received various accolades, including two Cry ...

as Afsane Shirkhodaei

Commentary and controversy

In 2019, Popular, Beiraghi's third feature film was eliminated from the Fajr Festival's public screening program. The director published a comment on his social media page which read: “God in Heaven!... Popular wasn’t allowed to be screened in Mashhad! I called all the people I knew to ask why. All of them said unanimously, ‘We just obey orders from above!’ I wonder where and who this “above” is! I wish I could talk to this “above”! He or she needs to explain why he doesn't allow the others to see the film while he himself hasn't still seen it and simply eliminated it...” To show respect for his viewers, Beiraghi shared a few minutes of the beginning of his film through live video.

References

External links

* Films directed by Soheil Beiraghi {{Iran-film-stub