Iran’s Farhad Delaram, Whose ‘Achilles’ Launches in Toronto, ‘Hopes We Are Going to See Big Changes’ Prompted by Mahsa Amini Protests
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent Iranian director Farhad Delaram was in the midst of shooting his subversive road movie “Achilles” when Mahsa Amini died in Tehran on Sept.
16, 2022, while being detained for allegedly violating the country’s hijab law that mandates covered hair. Amini’s death triggered months of nationwide demonstrations and riots under the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom.” The ongoing protests mark the most serious challenge to the country’s regime since the Islamic Republic was founded in 1979.
The fallout from Amini’s death came crashing onto the Iranian set of “Achilles,” in which a former filmmaker turned medic nicknamed Achilles decides to help a female political prisoner named Hedieh escape from a psych ward.
Due to the nationwide protests “Everyone on set was having trouble concentrating,” Delaram recounts. Roughly a year later, the director is in Toronto launching his timely drama that will now segue to San Sebastian and other European fests.
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