UPDATE: Our view-at-home licensing period for Yalda has expired. Please visit our blog to see which new movies are currently on offer.

The Cinematheque-at-Home series continues this week with Yalda, A Night for Forgiveness, a provocative and suspenseful drama that won the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

YALDA, A NIGHT FOR FORGIVENESS (Iran | 2020 | 89 minutes | Farsi with subtitles)

Director: Massoud Bakhshi | Cast: Sadaf Asgari, Behnaz Jafari, Babak Karimi

Live from Tehran, a young woman who has been sentenced to death for murdering her husband recalls the details leading up to her crime on the nation’s most popular TV reality show. Since Iranian law allows for the victim’s family to forgive her and spare her life, the fate of Maryam (Sadaf Asgari) will be decided by Mona (Behnaz Jafari), her husband’s daughter from a previous marriage. In front of millions of viewers during Yalda, the winter solstice celebration, Maryam and Mona discover that forgiveness can be difficult as they relive the past.

Unfolding almost entirely within the confines of a TV studio during the live broadcast, writer/director Massoud Bahkshi demonstrates an exciting and rigorous control over his material that yields a breathtaking series of intense and provocative moments. Yalda is Bahkhsi’s second feature film and the winner of the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

“A clever, suspenseful exposé of Sharia law. There is really much to enjoy in this paradoxical but grippingly paced film” (Deborah Young, The Hollywood Reporter)

For a limited time, the Cinematheque has a limited number of opportunities to view Yalda at home for free. To receive access, send an email to info@cinema.wisc.edu and simply remember to include the word YALDA. No further message is necessary.

Stay healthy and safe. We value your support for the Cinematheque and we look forward to being able to watch movies with you soon in the proper cinematic settings of 4070 Vilas Hall and the Chazen Museum of Art.