Fruits of Despair
Asian Premiere
Nima Nassaj Iran 2026 29 min R21 (Mature Content)
While making a documentary about the Israel-Palestine conflict, an Iranian filmmaker finds himself in a warzone when Israel and the US attack Iran in early 2026. This hybrid film connects displacement, loss and mortality that span decades across borders.
While making a documentary inspired by archival footage about the longstanding conflict between Israel and Palestine, Nima Nassaj is plunged into a warzone himself when Israel and the US attack Iran in early 2026. As he evacuates Tehran with his family, his film transforms: present-day images and sounds of violence layer over those from the past. News clips, citizen phone footage, social media posts and Nassaj’s video diary capturing the strikes are interspersed with ruminations on displacement, disempowerment and mortality.
The hybrid film explores the personal and collective destruction wreaked by cross-border, decades-long conflicts. Pondering the deaths of Palestinian filmmakers like Hani Jawharieh, Nassaj understands that images must survive to tell these stories.
Synopsis Writer: Sam I-shan
Undercurrent, Q&A
1 Nov, Sun 1:30PM / 29 min
Oldham Theatre
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Fruits of Despair
میوههایملال
Nima Nassaj
Iran
2026
Farsi
English
29 min
R21 (Mature Content)
Asian Premiere
Nima Nassaj
Iranian filmmaker Nima Nassaj works across fiction, documentary and video art to investigate the intersection of personal and collective histories, particularly in modern Iran. He founded Blue Bird Film Archive which preserves and reinterprets archival materials. Fruits of Despair premiered at the Berlinale Forum Expanded.
N.A.
Nima Nassaj