Skip to main content
Solar Eclipse film image, co-directors Alireza Ghasemi and Raha Amirfazli

Solar Eclipse

Eclipse

Canadian Premiere

A teen girl and her two friends and are off for an afternoon in the largest park in Teheran to photograph a rare total solar eclipse. This is a slice-of-life teen adventure where something as dark as the eclipse is revealed. The film shows us that, perhaps not surprisingly, rebellious teen behaviours and attitudes in Iran and the West share striking similarities, and that some of their actions would be considered morally questionable in both societies. The film is beautifully shot and directed with simplicity and precision, complemented by superb acting. The eclipse becomes a metaphor for something that should have stayed hidden, and that unsettled feeling of something being fundamentally changed forever.

 

Community Partner

Directors
Cast

Khorshid Cheraghipour, Paniz Esmaili, Anita Bagheri, Payman Naimi, Faraz Modiri

Credits
Country of Origin

France/Iran

Year

2021

Language

In Farsi with English subtitles

Film Contact
Links
15 min

Featured in:

The Lone Wolf film image

International Shorts: Morality Plays

Morals are being challenged on many fronts. The protagonists in this program of short films are all faced with difficult moral choices and they don’t always make the right decisions.

 

MORE INFO

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

While You Weren't Looking

Dir. Catherine Stewart
72 min

The changing landscape of South African politics and lifestyles is portrayed through a trio of artfully counter-pointed relationships.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
The Other
The Other film image; two people looking out at sandy dunes

The Other

Dir. Joy Sela
100 min

Filmed from 2017-2024, including post October 7 and during the subsequent war, Joy Sela's documentary is an inspiring testament to how human beings -- even in the worst circumstances -- can transcend difference to forge connection and understanding.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Familiar Touch

Dir. Sarah Friedland
90 min

A loving portrait of an octogenarian transitioning into an assisted living facility, this award-winning first feature by choreographer Sarah Friedland has a simplicity and warmth that's exceptionally poignant.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Stories of Our Lives

Dir. Jim Chuchu
138 min

Stories of Our Lives (62 mins) documents personal stories of lovers, fighters and rebels and the community histories that characterize the queer experience in Kenya. This is preceded by the touching and resonant 38-minute Nigerian love story, Ìfé.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet film image; man leaning over a sleeping woman

Romeo and Juliet

Dir. Franco Zeffirelli
138 min

Franco Zeffirelli directed one of the most successful and beloved of Shakespeare films, casting teenagers Leonard Whiting and Oliva Hussey as his star-crossed lovers. This month's Premium Pick by Sandy Dowling.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Super Happy Forever

Dir. Kohei Igarashi
94 min

This beguiling film depicts a man’s return to the Japanese seaside town where he met his now-deceased wife five years earlier. He tries to relive the past, and in the film's final section -- a flashback to 2018 -- the audience is afforded that privilege.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Credits

Executive Producer

Raha Amirfazli, Aria Ghavamian, Mani Nilchiani

Producer

Hassan Nadjarian Dariani, Alireza Ghasemi, Adrien Barouillet

Screenwriter

Alireza Ghasemi, Raha Amirfazli

Cinematography

Soheil Goharipour

Editor

Pooyan Sholevar

Production Design

Faraz Modiri

Director

Raha Amirfazli headshot, Solar Eclipse co-director

Raha Amirfazli

Raha Amirfazli is an Iranian filmmaker who graduated from the Art University of Tehran in Film Directing. She has made several short films that have earned her national and international screenings, including Nausea (2017). In addition to serving as a referee in the Danish journal Short Film Studies, she is also the editor-in-chief of the 24 Frames website. Amirfazli is currently pursuing an MFA in Film Production at New York University.

Alireza Ghasemi headshot, Solar Eclipse co-director

Alireza Ghasemi

Alireza Ghasemi is an Iranian filmmaker. He received his Master’s degree in Film Directing from the Art University of Tehran. His short Lunch Time (2017) earned him a Palme d’Or nomination in Cannes’ short film category. He is now the international manager of the Iranian Short Film Association. He participated in Cannes’ residency program with his first feature-length film script, The Ceremony.