“No End” (2024)
Short Film / Drama, Comedy · Iran / Italy
Logline: After his exposé film gets confiscated, filmmaker Gholamali Darbari defiantly crafts a protest selfie-video to challenge Iran’s truth suppression, aiming for global impact.
Writer: Navid Nikkhah Azad
Director: Navid Nikkhah Azad
Producer: Navid Nikkhah Azad, Mohammad Shahverdy, Shiva Namvar
Stars: Sadegh Molaei (as Gholamali Darbari), X X (as Pari)
Watch trailer
Storyline
In the midst of Iran’s tumultuous socio-political unrest, ‘NO END,’ directed by Navid Nikkhah Azad, follows Gholamali Darbari, an intrepid filmmaker whose daring exposé, ‘Forced Confession,’ sheds light on Iran’s covert coercion practices. As government authorities seize his incendiary film, Darbari refuses to be silenced.
Keywords
“Woman, Life, Freedom”, “Mahsa Amini”, “Mahsa Amini protests”, “Protests against the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran”, “Civil unrest”, “Socio-political upheaval”, “Protest selfie-video”, “Censorship”, “Government oppression”, “Activism”, “State control”, “Civil disobedience”, “Regime critique”, “Lying press”, “Revolutionary fervor”, “Social justice”
Tagline: In a fight for freedom, a camera becomes the weapon.
Genres: Drama · Comedy
Did you know
Trivia
- In “No End” by director Navid Nikkhah Azad, the film directly references the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ movement in Iran sparked by the tragic in-custody death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iran’s morality police. Amini’s refusal to adhere to the country’s abusive and discriminatory compulsory veiling laws became a focal point of this movement. The film references pivotal figures of the movement such as Mahsa Amini, Nika Shakarami, and Sarina Esmailzadeh.
- In “No End” by director Navid Nikkhah Azad, the film sharply criticizes the Persian news outlet, BBC Persian, alleging its complicity with the Islamic Republic of Iran, questioning its alignment and support.
- In “No End” by director Navid Nikkhah Azad, during a headline reading by the film’s protagonist, significant news unfolds, including the distressing sexual assault of Iranian photojournalist Yalda Moaiery by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence officers. The headlines also expose Ebrahim Raisi’s denial of the tragic death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran’s morality police, falsely claiming no harm was inflicted. Additionally, the imprisonment of Iranian singer, musician, and activist Mehdi Yarrahi over the song ‘Take Off Your Hijab’ is featured. Former political prisoner Leila Hosseinzadeh’s courageous thesis defense without wearing Iran’s mandatory hijab stands out among these news highlights.
- In “No End” by director Navid Nikkhah Azad, the film pays homage to the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, showcasing scenes where people unite under the song “Baraye” by Shervin Hajipour and slogans against Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and the Iranian government.
- In “No End” by director Navid Nikkhah Azad, the film references the tragic death of Armita Geravand, a 17-year-old girl who sustained a traumatic brain injury after a violent altercation with Tehran’s morality police for not wearing the mandatory hijab. On October 1, 2023, she fell into a coma while on Tehran Metro, and tragically, on October 28, 2023, she was declared brain dead in an Army hospital’s intensive care unit. Her story strikingly mirrors the fate of Mahsa Amini.
- Director Navid Nikkhah Azad covertly recorded No End in October 2023, delving into sensitive political subjects that question the Iranian regime and its leader, Ali Khamenei. Offering perspectives challenging the Islamic Republic regime, Navid Nikkhah Azad, originally scheduled to attend the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) as a film critic, discreetly uploaded the film to Vimeo and stored its daily footage on his laptop. Arriving in Amsterdam on November 8th, 2023, he sought asylum.
Film details
Release date: World Premiere
Country of origin: Iran · Itay
Country of filming: Iran
Official sites: Website · IMDb · FilmFreeway
Press: External coverage for ‘No End’
Social Profiles: Instagram · Twitter · Facebook · YouTube
Language: Persian
Subtitles: English
Production company: ZIZ · Blue Rose
Technical specs
Runtime: 43 minutes
Color: Color
Sound mix: Dolby SR
Aspect ratio: 1.78 : 1
