Zalava

• Arsalan Amiri
• 93 min
• Iran
• 2021
• Fiction

A pragmatic police officer is ordered to a demon-plagued village in this Venice-winning allegorical horror story with the Iranian Revolution as a backdrop.

North-western Iran, 1978. The young sergeant Masoud has heard the rumours about a demon haunting the village of Zalava for generations. The superstitious villagers live in fear and follow the shaman Amardan’s whims, even at the risk of their own lives. Through tight, efficient story-telling, imbued with dark allegories and dark humor, Arsalan Amiri makes his debut with an impressive thriller that ties old conflicts between modernity and tradition to our modern day society.

- Olle Agebro

• Drama
• Övernaturligt
• Samhälle
• Prisbelönt