Houman Seyedi’s World War III, a searing social critique, captivated audiences at the 2022 La Biennale di Venezia, and was Iran’s surprise entry to this year’s Academy Awards.
Shakib (Mohsen Tanabandeh) is a homeless man with a tragic past. He spends most of his time as a day worker, taking any job he can get to earn enough money to spend time with a prostitute he has come to love. His most recent job is at a construction site, which turns out to be the set of a film production about Nazi atrocities. Shakib and many of his co-workers are coerced into being extras in the film, and then, by way of an accident, Shakib is cast against his will as Adoph Hitler, sending him down a fateful and treacherous path. Winner of the Orizzonti Award for Best Actor and Best Film at the 2022 La Biennale di Venezia. “Houman Seyedi’s startling, audacious and truly entrancing satire, World War III, deserved (Oscar) consideration…” –Frank J. Avella, Awards Daily
Director Biography
Houman Seyyedi has served as an actor, director, screenwriter and editor in theater, television and cinema, who has worked for such luminaries as Asghar Farhadi. His feature films as director are Africa (2011), 13 (2014), Confessions of My Dangerous Mind (2015), Sound and Fury (2016) and Sheeple (2018).