Iran’s Underground Cinema in Tallinn Competition with ‘Duality’

TALLINN, Estonia — “Duality,” the new hybrid feature written, directed and produced by Iranian filmmaker Abbas Nezamdoost world-premiered this week in Tallinn’s main competition, marking a bold entry from Iran’s underground cinema scene.

Nezamdoost’s sophomore feature charts the intersecting lives of three young Tehranis, blending color cinematography with black-and-white photo storybook sequences voiced by the characters. “Duality” opens on what appears to be an ordinary day for Tara and Nima, a young couple going about their routines, while elsewhere Aban sets out on a journey of her own, swept up in the tremors of first love. As the film unfolds, it shifts back and forward between two different stories and times.

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The team shot the film’s two visual modes separately in early 2024, starting with the moving-image material before capturing thousands of black-and-white photographs for the still sequences. Discreet special effects were later added across both strands, from a shattering mirror in the live-action footage to subtle cigarette smoke woven into individual stills, with the aim of making the photo sections feel as real as the filmed world. As VFX artist and filmmaker Ali Roozkhash explained, the process relies on close back-and-forth with the director: “Abbas wanted the photo parts to feel realistic, so I would make suggestions, and then we would discuss them and he would give me the freedom to apply them. It was a team effort.”

Nezamdoost said the film’s structure mirrors the duality of Iranian post-revolutionary society. “After the revolution, we understood from the very beginning that if you want to lead a normal life, you have to understand the underground way. And that’s how we basically operate our day-to-day lives. Everything in our society is hidden,” he told Variety.

His cast is drawn directly from that world. “We have Masoumeh [who plays Tara], she is also a songwriter and a musician, and she performs in the underground scene. Eysan [in the role of Nima] is a songwriter – he’s in a band which is very well-known in Iran, but it is underground. And Sonia [Sanjari, who plays Aban] is the director of a theater, but it’s an underground theater.”

Asked whether returning to Iran might be dangerous for them, the team was explicit about the uncertainty they face: “We have no idea what’s going to happen… They could just talk to us, they might take our passports and forbid us from leaving the country, this might escalate into something bigger… or nothing might happen,” said Roozkhash, translating from Persian for the team.

Lead actor Ehsan Goodarzi articulated the moral stakes behind the decision. “We are tired of lying. We hate to portray the fake life that everybody else believes in. We want to show the real ‘us.’ For a long time, when women were portrayed inside the house, they were still wearing the hijab which is completely untrue. For us as male artists, it’s not as dangerous as it is for women when they stop wearing the hijab,” he said.

“We want to lead a life that is meaningful,” added co-lead Masoumeh Beigi.

For the team, the danger is outweighed by the need to remain truthful, both to their own lives and to the society they depict. “Art is connected to truth,” said Nezamdoost, “and that’s what we believe in.”

The team’s process reflects that ethos. Much of the film was developed through rehearsal and improvisation. “I would record the actors’ voices and go back home and try to edit that in his head, and then I would come back to rehearsals the next day and we would sit down and talk about the connections between the characters, we created them together,” explained Nezamdoost. He said he avoids over-rehearsing dialogue because “if you practice a lot with the dialogues, it kills the entire emotion of a scene. It completely destroys the freedom of improvisation both for the director and for the actor.”

“Duality” is co-produced by Mohammad Attebai’s Tehran-based Iranian Independents, which is handling international distribution.

The film had its world premiere in Tallinn on Nov. 17. The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival wraps on Nov. 23.