The critics section hosts the Iranian film Zalava.
The criticism section is an autonomous and parallel section organized by the National Union of Italian Film Critics (SNCCI) as part of the Venice Biennale International Film Festival. The selection consists of seven first films in competition and two special events out of competition.The selection in competition hosts the film by Arsalan Amiri entitled Zalava.
1978, the inhabitants of a small village called Zalava are convinced that a demon is among them. A young sergeant investigating the case decides to arrest the exorcist who tries to drive the demon out of the village. But suddenly he will find himself stuck in a cursed house with his mistress and the villagers will believe they are both possessed.
Arsalan Amiri (1975) was born in Kurdistan, Iran. He holds a BA in film directing from the Art University of Tehran and a master's degree in dramatic literature from the University of Tehran. In 2003 he started writing screenplays, editing and making documentaries. His first co-written feature film, Nahid (2015), directed by Ida Panahandeh, won the Future Promising Award in Un Certain Regard at the 68th Cannes Film Festival. He continued his collaboration with Panahandeh in his last three films as a co-writer, editor and producer: Israfil (2017) The Nikaidos' Fall (2018- Japan and Hong Kong) e TiTi (2020) Zalava, made in Iranian Kurdistan, is his first feature film as a director.
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