UNDER THE SHADOW

Tehran, 1988: the fighting between Iran and Iraq is deadlocked. Shideh and her daughter have shut themselves up at home after the bombing. Strange events occur in their at, amplified by superstitious utterances coming from a neighbour. As the building empties out, Shideh and her daughter are forced to face an even more insidious threat than the missiles whistling over their heads. This debut, masterfully-wrought film familiarises western filmgoers with the little-exploited mythology of the djinn, tying it in with the “possession films” heritage of the 1960s and 1970s. Djinn are evil spirits originating from Coranic tradition, whose role in the lm may also be seen as a metaphor for a society cowering in fear.