Iran’s ‘Punishment’ globetrots from Sharjah to US screens
The Iranian short film ‘Punishment’ by director Pouya Mofid was selected for screenings at three international festivals this autumn, beginning in Sharjah on October 5 and culminating in the US in November.
From 5 to 12 October, ‘Punishment’ will screen three times at the Sharjah International Children’s and Youth Film Festival in the UAE, at Vox City Centre Al Zahia, where Mofid will walk the red carpet, ILNA reported.
The film then moves to Orange County, for the 26th Newport Beach Film Festival, held from October 16 to 23. Its US screening is scheduled for October 23 at 15:30.
Next stop is Delaware for the 27th Rehoboth Beach International Film Festival, running November 3–9, where ‘Punishment’ will be shown on November 8.
‘Punishment,’ produced and distributed worldwide by Madakto Pictures, had earlier been screened in Ningbo, China, and at DokuFest in Kosovo.
Mehdi Asghari Azghadi, who penned the screenplay, described the film as arising from “a few human questions” including how the next generation reflects what we have handed to them, and whether silenced voices echo back a mirror of ourselves. He pondered whether a seemingly simple “punishment” might cause the collapse of character in a child or adult.
He added that Mofid, on his first directorial venture, embraced the emotional complexity of the script, navigating the challenge of working with child actors and sensitive scenes.
The film stars Mohammad Sedighi Mehr and Sahar Aghasi. It centers on an incident in an elementary school where a Black child—after harsh correction by a teacher—develops a severe stutter traced by doctors to psychological trauma. The family pursues legal action against the teacher.