KILLING A TRAITOR
Killing a Traitor
(Khaen Koshi)
Written & Directed by: Masoud Kimiai
Producer: Ali Oji
Director of Photography: Masoud Salami
Editor: Sepideh Abdolvahab
Music: Sattar Oraki
Production Designer: Soheil Danesh Eshraghi
Costume Designer: Maral Jeyrani
Sound: Amir Hossein Ghasemi
Visual Effects: Arash Aghabeik
Make-up: Mohsen Darsanj
Cast: Amir Aghaei (Mehdi Baligh), Poulad Kimiai (Shahrokh), Mehran Modiri (Sohrab Safa), Farhad Aeesh (Mohammad Mosaddegh), Sara Bahrami (Atlas), Narges Mohammadi, Pantea Bahram, Reza Yazdani, Sam Derakhshani.
Iran, 2022, DCP, 2K, Color, 1.85:1, 5.1, 120 mins.
Language(s): Farsi.
Synopsis:
In coincidence with the Nationalization of Iranian Oil Industry, when the Iranian government faces budget deficits due to the fact that the entire world stops acquiring oil from the country, Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh asks the people for support. So a group of university students decide to rob the National Bank of Iran for good, but simultaneously some robbers enter the bank and steal the money. It seems that the destiny would be marked in the confrontation of the student activists and the opportunist thieves…
Director’s View:
Unfolding the secrets in a hidden, vital period in Iranian Modern History and portraying the freedom fighters who were lost in the labyrinths of history…
Director’s Profile:
Born in 1941 in Tehran, Masoud Kimiai, Iranian filmmaker and writer, is best-known for his second film, QAISAR, one of the two films which started Iranian New Wave and the work which made a balance between Iranian art films and commercial productions. He is always regarded as a film auteur and prominent cineaste who played a key role in the formation of Film Business in Iran.
After entering film industry as an assistant director, Kimiai made his debut feature in 1968, but one year later, he came back with his ground breaking QAISAR and established himself as one of the key figures in the history of Iranian cinema. Up to 1979, most of Kimiai’s films were closely interweaved with the movies of rebellion and vengeance, with some political nuances, even in his film adaptations – e.g. from Sadegh Hedayat’s novel in DASH AKOL, from Mahmoud Dowlat-Abadi’s novel in THE EARTH and from Jorge Luis Borges’ short story GHAZAL. Although most of Kimiai’s works have been well received by Iranian audience in the last three decades, he is best-known in international scene for SNAKE FANG which was highly-acclaimed in Berlinale. As one of the oldest active cineastes in Iranian cinema, Kimiai has introduced some of the multi award winning film directors – such as Abbas Kiarostami and Asghar Farhadi – to the world of cinema when they worked with him as assistant director, title sequence designer, etc.
Feature Films: 1968- Come Stranger; 1969- Qaisar; 1970- Reza; the Motorcyclist; 1971- Dash Akol; 1972- Baluch; 1973- The Earth; 1975- The Deer; 1978- Ghazal; The Stone Journey; 1982- The Red Line; 1986- The Blade and The Silk; 1989- The Lead; 1989- Snake Fang; 1990- The Sergeant; 1992- Wolf’s Trail; 1993- The Commerce; 1995- The Feast; 1996- Sultan; 1997- Mercedes; 1999- The Cry; 2000- The Protest; 2004- Friday Soldiers; 2006- Verdict; 2007- Boss; 2009- Trial on the Street; 2011- Crime; 2014- Metropole; 2017- The Tame Killer; 2020- There Was Blood; 2022- Killing a Traitor.
Festivals & Awards:
1- International Film Festival of Rotterdam (January 2023 – The Netherlands).
2- Wales International Film Festival (September 2023 – UK).
- Best Foreign Language Film Nominee.
3- Golden Femi Film Festival (June 2024 – Bulgaria).
- Historical Excellence in Storytelling Award.
External Links:
1- IFFR Intro by Cherry van der Stelt.
2- The Film Verdict Review by Deborah Young.
World Sales:
Sales: mohammad@irimageco.com
Festivals: kamyar@irimageco.com