Filmmaking seems to run through Pegah Ahangarani’s veins. Her parents are both noted for their work behind the camera, while she’s been a screen actor since childhood, finding stardom at age 15 in 1999’s The Girl in the Sneakers. But in this unique decades-spanning nonfiction, the focus is not on professional history, but on the collision between personal and political spheres. Assembled entirely from preexisting footage and errata, it charts the often-cruel fates of immediate family, relatives, and mentors from before the 1979 Iranian Revolution—which many hoped would bring liberation—through successive crackdowns on dissent under the Islamic Republic. Some ultimately fled the country; others were less fortunate. Complete with harrowing glimpses from the midst of protests violently quelled by police, this first-person account laments a homeland that’s suffered under authoritarian control for the now-exiled director’s entire life. It’s a graceful tally of serial rebellions and disillusionments that won Cannes’ Golden Eye award this spring. —Dennis Harvey
Born in Iran and currently based in London, Pegah Ahangarani is an award-winning Iranian filmmaker and actress whose career spans more than three decades. Her directorial work includes the documentaries I Am Trying to Remember (2021), My Father (2023), and As I Lay Dying (2025), as well as Child Soldier (2024) and Taraneh (2025). Her short films have screened at major international festivals, including Hot Docs, Busan, the IDA Documentary Awards, and Melbourne, winning awards at Dokufest (2021), Busan (2021), Porto Femme International Film Festival (2023, Gold Frame), IDFA (2023), Short Focus London Film Festival (2024), and Florence Short Film Festival (2024).