A Hero

Special Screening | Ajyal at Vox | Ajyal at Katara | Opening Night - Ajyal Film Festival 2021

Rahim finds himself in jail for incurring a business debt he is unable to repay. While on a two-day leave,

Asghar Farhadi / Iran, France / Feature Narrative

Asteroid

Ajyal Competition | Ajyal at Vox - Ajyal Film Festival 2021

Ebrahim is only twelve years of age but bears much of the responsibility for his household of five younger siblings with his mother.

Mehdi Hoseinivand Aalipour / Iran / Feature Narrative

Before Darkness

Ajyal Competition | Ajyal at Vox - Ajyal Film Festival 2021

An Afghan woman hides her child because she does not have enough money to take them both across Iran’s border. But her plan is exposed with heartbreaking consequences.

Mosayeb Hanaei / Iran, Afghanistan / Short Narrative

Changing Times

Ajyal Competition | Ajyal at Vox - Ajyal Film Festival 2021

Change is inevitable; it is how we adapt and overcome that defines us. In this dynamic programme of shorts, we explore the natural state of turmoil and seek to find meaning in chaos.

Orca

Special Screening | Ajyal at Vox | Ajyal at Katara - Ajyal Film Festival 2021

Elham, a divorced Iranian woman, survives a horrific beating at the hands of her husband.

Sahar Mossayebi / Qatar, Iran / Feature Narrative

Shadegan

Ajyal Competition | Ajyal at Vox - Ajyal Film Festival 2021

A day in the life of a 12-year-old fisherman on his boat in Shadegan Pond, Iran—his second home and the source of his family's livelihood.

Ako Salemi / Iran / Short Documentary

Uncertain Futures I

Ajyal Competition | Ajyal at Vox - Ajyal Film Festival 2021

It’s certainly been an unpredictable couple of years for the world. But as the old adage goes, when nothing is sure—everything is possible. This thought-provoking programme of shorts illustrates that at the beginning of some of life’s most meaningful journeys, lies uncertainty...