Zalava
# Zalava

Zalava (Persian: زالاوا‎) is a 2021 Iranian horror drama film directed by Arsalan Amiri and written by Amiri, Ida Panahandeh and Tahmineh Bahramalian. The film screened for the first time at the 39th Fajr Film Festival and earned 6 nominations and received 4 awards.

## Cast

* Navid Pourfaraj as Sergeant Masoud Ahmadi
* Pouria Rahimi Sam as Amardan
* Hoda Zeinolabedin as Malihe
* Baset Rezaei as Younes
* Fereydoun Hamedi as Amous
* Shahou Rostami as Khalaj
* Mahsa Hejazi as Khalaj's daughter
* Leila Beigi as Leila
* Zahed Zandi as Sergeant Amini
* Saleh Rahimi as Arhim
* Hadi Ahmadi as Soldier
* Darioush Karim Raouf as Zalava People
* Salar Zarei as Zalava People
* Masoud Beigi as Zalava People
* Kordowan Boustan as Musician
* Varya Amini as Zalava People
* Asad Houshman as Zalava People
* Azin Kananian as Zalava People
* Romina Haji Hosseini as Zalava People
* Narin Malek as Zalava People
* Keyvan Sheikh Ahmadi as Zalava People

## Reception

### Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 89% based on 17 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10.

   Marking a confident, cinema-literate feature debut for helmer and co-writer Arsalan Amiri, a member of the Iranian Kurdish minority, the film puts a new spin on genre conventions. But perhaps its biggest asset is the performance of tall, toned and impressively mustached star Navid Pourfaraj as the sergeant of a nearby gendarmerie, whose attempts to lay down the law with the trigger-happy residents of Zalava result in unintended consequences.

— Variety / Alissa Simon

   Amiri has made the village of the film with precise mezzanine, costume design, accent form and behavior and has worked properly on these things.

— Haft / Massoud Farasati

### Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 2021 | Fajr Film Festival | Best Supporting Actor | Pouria Rahimi Sam | Won |
| 2021 | Fajr Film Festival | Best Cinematography | Mohammad Rasouli | Honorary Diploma |
| 2021 | Fajr Film Festival | Best First Film | Arsalan Amiri | Won |
| 2021 | Fajr Film Festival | Best Screenplay | Arsalan Amiri, Ida Panahandeh and Tahmineh Bahramalian | Won |
| 2021 | Fajr Film Festival | Best Film | Zalava | Nominated |
| 2021 | Fajr Film Festival | Best Director | Arsalan Amiri | Nominated |
| 2021 | Fajr Film Festival | Best Actor | Navid Pourfaraj | Nominated |
| 2021 | Fajr Film Festival | Sound Recording | Rshid Daneshman | Nominated |
| 2021 | Fajr Film Festival | Sound Editing | Amir Hossein Ghasemi | Nominated |
| 2021 | Fajr Film Festival | Costume Design | Mohammad Hossein Karami | Nominated |
| 2021 | Venice International Film Festival | Grand Prize Venice International Critics' Week | Arsalan Amiri | Won |
| 2021 | Venice International Film Festival | FIPRESCI Prize (Parallel Sections) | Arsalan Amiri | Won |
| 2021 | São Paulo International Film Festival | New Directors Competition (Best Film) | Arsalan Amiri | Nominated |
| 2021 | Fantastic Fest | Next Wave (Best Film) | Arsalan Amiri | Won |
| 2021 | Duhok International Film Festival | Best Director of a Kurdish Feature Film | Arsalan Amiri | Won |
| 2021 | Duhok International Film Festival | Best Actor of a Kurdish Feature Film | Navid Pourfaraj | Won |
| 2022 | Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Pouria Rahimi Sam | Nominated |
| 2022 | Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association | Best Sound | Rashid Daneshmand, Amir Hossein Ghasemi | Won |
| 2022 | Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association | Best Creativity and Talent (first filmmakers) | Arsalan Amiri | Nominated |
