Under the Shadow: Britain Goes to the Oscars with Persian-Language Film

The British Film Institute (BFI) announced on Wednesday, September 21, that the Persian-language film "Under the Shadow" directed by Babak Anvari, a British filmmaker of Iranian descent, will represent the UK in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Academy Awards. This announcement comes just days after the selection of Asghar Farhadi's film "The Salesman" as this year's representative of Iranian cinema, marking the first time two Persian-language films will compete in this category at the Oscars. "Under the Shadow" is the first feature film by its creator and premiered last winter at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in the United States. The film's story, set in the horror genre, takes place in 1988 at the height of the Iran-Iraq War and the missile bombardment of Tehran, narrating a frightening tale about the relationship between a mother and her young daughter after an unexploded missile strikes their apartment. In the absence of the father, who has gone to the front, the missile's entry into the home seemingly opens the way for the presence of unknown entities that affect the mother-daughter relationship. This is the second horror film by Iranian filmmakers abroad that has garnered public attention; previously, Ana Lily Amirpour stirred controversy in the horror genre with her debut film "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night." The main cast of "Under the Shadow" includes Narges Rashidi, Avin Manshadi, and Bobby Naderi, produced by the British company Wigwam. The filmmakers chose Amman, the capital of Jordan, to recreate Tehran and the apartment where the film's events take place, filming there. Babak Anvari, the writer and director of the film, has prior experience making several short films, including "Two and Two," which was nominated for the prestigious BAFTA award in 2012. Mr. Anvari, who was born in Tehran and left Iran for London at the age of 19 to pursue his studies, told Screen Daily during the film's screening at Sundance that the film's events were inspired by his childhood experiences during the Iran-Iraq War. "Under the Shadow" is set to be released in the UK starting Friday and will begin showing in the US in two weeks. Netflix, the major film distribution company, has also acquired the online streaming rights. The deadline for film submissions from various countries to the Academy Awards is October 3, and so far significant films such as "Julieta" by Pedro Almodóvar from Spain, "Ma' Rosa" by Brillante Mendoza from the Philippines, "The Knight" directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari from Greece, and "The Salesman" by Asghar Farhadi from Iran have been submitted to the Academy. According to this year's Oscar Academy calendar, after the film submissions, the initial list of 9 films will be announced on January 17, followed by the final 5 nominees for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar one week later. The 89th Academy Awards ceremony will be held on February 26, 2017 (early morning of March 9, Iran time) in Los Angeles.