Terrestrial Verses

Terrestrial Verses
A hazy vision of the skyline of Tehran. Above, a woman in a hijab has her eyes closed.
Persianآیه های زمینی
Directed byAli Asgari
Alireza Khatami
Written byAli Asgari
Alireza Khatami
Produced byAli Asgari
Milad Khosravi
StarringSadaf Asgari
Bahram Ark
Ardeshir Kazemi
Gohar Kheirandish
Farzin Mohades
Faezeh Rad
Majid Salehi
Hossein Soleimani
CinematographyAdib Sobhani
Edited byEhsan Vaseghi
Production
companies
  • Cynefilms
  • Seven Springs Pictures
  • Taat Films
Distributed by
  • Films Boutique (Worldwide)
Release date
  • 23 May 2023 (2023-05-23) (Cannes)
Running time
77 minutes
CountryIran
LanguagePersian

Terrestrial Verses (Persian: آیه های زمینی) is a 2023 Iranian film written and directed by Ali Asgari and Alireza Khatami.

It had its world premiere at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, on 23 May 2023. The film also had theatrical release in France, where it achieved approximately 100,000 admissions.

Synopsis

The film contains nine vignettes in which ordinary Iranian citizens struggle against the power of religiously-guided authoritarianism in everyday situations.

Cast

Production

Asgari and Khatami worked on the script together, but had difficulty finding a producer and ultimately produced the film at their own expense with financial support from friends. The film was then shot within seven days.

Release

The film premiered on May 23, 2023, in Cannes, after which it was shown on October 4, 2023, at the BFI Film Festival in London, on October 19, 2023, in the USA during the Chicago International Film Festival and at other international film festivals. The cinema release in Germany was April 11, 2024.

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 96% based on 28 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 83 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Awards

The film won both the Grand Prix and the FIPRESCI Award at 2024 Luxembourg City Film Festival.

References

  1. ↑ Wilkinson, Alissa (April 25, 2024). "'Terrestrial Verses' Review: Sitting in the Bureaucrat's Seat" – via NYTimes.com.
  2. ↑ Barnes, Zachary. "'Terrestrial Verses' Review: Stories of Struggle in Iran".
  3. ↑ "Milad Khosravi profile". Seven Springs Pictures official site. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  4. ↑ "Terrestrial Verses". Virginia Film Festival. 2023-09-18. Retrieved 2025-01-24.
  5. ↑ Alireza Khatami und Ali Asgari, Irdische Verse Kunst und Film, retrieved 23 April 2024.
  6. ↑ Irdische Verse Archived 2024-04-22 at the Wayback Machine berlin.de, retrieved 22 April 2024.
  7. ↑ "Terrestrial Verses". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 11 September 2026.
  8. ↑ "Terrestrial Verses". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 11 September 2026.
  9. ↑ Vassilis, Economou (2024-03-11). "Terrestrial Verses wins big at the Luxembourg City Film Festival". Cineuropa. Retrieved 2024-05-31.