Chess of the Wind

The film was completed in 1976, but only screened once after its release. Following the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the film was banned and later considered lost, until the director's children found the original, though damaged negative of the film in a junk shop in 2014. After an intensive restoration process, this thrilling drama could be admired again in 2020. Director Mohammad Reza Aslani, who also wrote the screenplay for his feature debut, was inspired by the 17th-century painters Johannes Vermeer and Georges de La Tour for his visual language. The result: a story of greed, oppression and murder, captured in meaningful images.

The matriarch of a wealthy family has only just died when a battle erupts over her legacy. Her disabled daughter Aghdas is the rightful heir, though her second husband and his sons think otherwise. Aghdas finds support and comfort with her sympathetic maid.

Restored by Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata and The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project. Funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation, in collaboration with Mohammad Reza Aslani.