TEHRAN – Iranian director Shahram Mokhri’s latest film “Black Rabbit, White Rabbit” will be screened at two international film festivals in Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
ISNA reports that the 36th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) and the 5th Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) will screen the film in competition.
SGIFF will be held from November 28th to December 8th, and RSIFF will be held from December 4th to 13th.
The 139-minute film was produced by Tajikistan and the UAE. The film was selected as Tajikistan’s official submission to represent the country in the International Feature Film category at the 2026 Academy Awards.
Mokri develops multiple plots in this gripping, layered, playful and clever drama centered around Sara, a bandaged victim of a suspicious car accident and at odds with her controlling husband.
What turns out to be a movie within a movie, a movie within a movie, zooms out to include a remake of a classic Iranian film in Tajikistan, a prop master worrying about prop guns, and an actress looking for her big break. Of course, their fates collide through multiple fluid and bold circular takes covering the same time frame, bold touches of magic realism, and eternal mysteries.
In this revolving narrative, Mokri adheres to Anton Chekhov’s principle that every element introduced is sure to pay off. Each detail becomes both an anticipation and a distraction, its meaning disrupted by mirrored scenes, time loops, and reenactments.
Successive long takes become a choreography of precision and misdirection, shaping what is seen and believed. Mokri exposes how cinema deceives itself by allowing for its own paradoxes: sleight of hand and its destruction.
The cast of the 2025 film includes Babak Karimi, Hasti Mohamemai, Kibriyo Dilyobova, Bezan Davlyatov, and more.
Established in 1987, the Singapore International Film Festival is Singapore’s largest and longest-running film event. A shining cornerstone of the local arts calendar, the festival is known for its dynamic program highlighting groundbreaking Asian cinema from Singapore and the region.
SGIFF celebrates the power of film, especially its power to inform, transform, and inspire. We focus on independent films from around the world, with a focus on Southeast Asian films.
Launched in 2019, the Red Sea International Film Festival celebrates excellence in cinema and opens its doors to the world. The annual event taps the vibrant creative energy of Jeddah, the Kingdom and the entire Arab region, presenting programs for film lovers, filmmakers and the industry at large.
Each year, the festival adopts a special theme for film arts and culture, becoming a new destination for Arab and international cinema with a vibrant and diverse program designed around the audience. There’s something for everyone. From local creators, movie buffs and families to international industry professionals interested in the inner workings of this new market.
SS/SAB