Under the Shadow

A frightened woman presses herself against the wall of a dim room. Bright daylight enters through two windows while she reaches outward with both arms.

Set in 1988 in Tehran amongst the chaos of the Iran-Iraq War, Under the Shadow follows a mother and daughter whose apartment building is hit by a missile that fails to explode.

After a superstitious neighbor suggests that the missile was cursed and responsible for transporting djinns—malevolent spirits that travel on the wind—into their home, Shideh (Narges Rashidi) becomes convinced that a supernatural force within the building is attempting to possess her daughter Dorsa (Avin Manshadi). As fears mount, she has no choice but to confront these otherworldly forces if she is to save her daughter and herself.

In his feature debut, director Babak Anvari merges ancient Islamic and Arabian folklore with razor-sharp references to the horror canon to create a provocative horror thriller that articulates the terrors of war in the post-revolutionary period in Iran.

Free admission! Sponsored by the Department of Near Eastern Studies.

In Farsi with English subtitles. Part of our "Near Eastern Studies" film series. Courtesy: XYZ Films