Koshtargah
An Iranian thriller that is at once psycho- and sociogram: Abed, a guard at a slaughterhouse, discovers dead bodies inside the cold store. His shady boss insists it was an accident. Abed feels responsible and asks his son Amir for help. But then both are plagued by a guilty conscience. Suddenly, the daughter of one of the deceased shows up at their door. When Amir discovers that Abed’s boss is involved in the illegal dollar trade, it raises the question: is this why the three men had to die and what will the daughter do? (Festival information, Mannheim-Heidelberg 2020)
The Slaughterhouse follows the fate of three men who cover up the traces of corpses they discover in the company meat freezer. Shot as a crime film with a stark visual palette, the film places an internal moral crisis at the heart of the narrative rather than representing a more straightforward external conflict with the authorities. The film asks us, how can we be human in inhumane circumstances and in that sense bears a universal message that echoes well beyond the borders of Iran. (Photo: © Irimage)