Terrestrial Verses

{{Infobox film

| name = Terrestrial Verses

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| native_name = {{infobox name module|fa|آیه های زمینی}}

| director = Ali Asgari and Alireza Khatami

| writer = Ali Asgari and Alireza Khatami

| producer = Ali Asgari
Milad Khosravi

| starring = Sadaf Asgari
Bahram Ark
Ardeshir Kazemi
Gohar Kheirandish
Farzin Mohades
Faezeh Rad
Majid Salehi
Hossein Soleimani

| cinematography = Adib Sobhani

| editing = Ehsan Vaseghi

| music =

| studio = {{Plainlist|

Cynefilms
Seven Springs Pictures
Taat Films

}}

| distributor = {{Plainlist|

Films Boutique (Worldwide)

}}

| released = {{Film date|df=yes|2023|5|23|Cannes}}

| runtime = 77 minutes

| country = Iran

| language = Persian

| budget =

| gross =

}}Terrestrial Verses (Persian: آیه های زمینی) is a 2023 Iranian film written and directed by Ali Asgari and Alireza Khatami.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/25/movies/terrestrial-verses-review.html|title='Terrestrial Verses' Review: Sitting in the Bureaucrat's Seat|first=Alissa|last=Wilkinson|date=April 25, 2024|via=NYTimes.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/film/terrestrial-verses-review-stories-of-struggle-in-iran-airdigital-581c4783|title='Terrestrial Verses' Review: Stories of Struggle in Iran|first=Zachary|last=Barnes}}

It had its world premiere at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, on 23 May 2023.

Synopsis

The film contains nine vignettes in which ordinary Iranian citizens struggle against the power of religiously-guided authoritarianism in everyday situations.{{Cite web |date=2023-09-18 |title=Terrestrial Verses |url=https://virginiafilmfestival.org/films/terrestrial-verses/#:~:text=Terrestrial%20Verses%20is%20comprised%20of,the%20naming%20of%20a%20newborn. |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=Virginia Film Festival |language=en-US}}

Cast

Sadaf Asgari as Sadaf
Bahram Ark as Bahram
Ardeshir Kazemi as 100-year-old man
Gohar Kheirandish as Mehri
Farzin Mohades as Ali
Faezeh Rad as Faezeh
Majid Salehi as Siamak
Hossein Soleimani as Farbod Akhtari
Sarvin Zabetian as Aram
Arghavan Shabani as Selena

Production

Asgari and Khatami worked on the script together, but had difficulty finding a producer and ultimately produced the film at their own expense with financial support from friends. The film was then shot within seven days.[https://kunstundfilm.de/2024/04/irdische-verse/ Alireza Khatami und Ali Asgari, Irdische Verse] Kunst und Film, retrieved 23 April 2024.

Release

The film premiered on May 23, 2023, in Cannes, after which it was shown on October 4, 2023, at the BFI Film Festival in London, on October 19, 2023, in the USA during the Chicago International Film Festival and at other international film festivals. The cinema release in Germany was April 11, 2024.[https://www.berlin.de/kino/_bin/filmdetail.php/298256 Irdische Verse] berlin.de, retrieved 22 April 2024.