{{Italic title}} {{Infobox film | name = Terrestrial Verses | image = Terrestrial Verses.jpg | alt = A hazy vision of the skyline of Tehran. Above, a woman in a hijab has her eyes closed. | caption = | native_name = {{infobox name module|fa|آیه های زمینی}} | director = [[Ali Asgari (director)|Ali Asgari]]<br>[[Alireza Khatami]] | writer = Ali Asgari<br>Alireza Khatami | producer = Ali Asgari<br>Milad Khosravi | starring = [[Sadaf Asgari]]<br>Bahram Ark<br>[[Ardeshir Kazemi]]<br>[[Gohar Kheirandish]]<br>Farzin Mohades<br>Faezeh Rad<br>[[Majid Salehi]]<br>Hossein Soleimani | cinematography = Adib Sobhani | editing = Ehsan Vaseghi | music = | studio = {{Plainlist| * Cynefilms * Seven Springs Pictures * Taat Films }} | distributor = {{Plainlist| * Films Boutique (Worldwide) }} | released = {{Film date|df=yes|2023|5|23|[[2023 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]]}} | runtime = 77 minutes | country = Iran | language = Persian | budget = | gross = }} '''''Terrestrial Verses''''' ([[Persian language|Persian]]: آیه های زمینی) is a 2023 Iranian film written and directed by [[Ali Asgari (director)|Ali Asgari]] and [[Alireza Khatami]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/25/movies/terrestrial-verses-review.html|title='Terrestrial Verses' Review: Sitting in the Bureaucrat's Seat|first=Alissa|last=Wilkinson|date=April 25, 2024|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/film/terrestrial-verses-review-stories-of-struggle-in-iran-airdigital-581c4783|title='Terrestrial Verses' Review: Stories of Struggle in Iran|first=Zachary|last=Barnes}}</ref>
It had its world premiere at the ''[[Un Certain Regard]]'' section of the [[2023 Cannes Film Festival]], on 23 May 2023. The film also had theatrical release in France, where it achieved approximately 100,000 admissions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Milad Khosravi profile |url=https://7springspictures.com/milad-khosravi/ |website=Seven Springs Pictures official site |access-date=18 August 2025}}</ref>
==Synopsis== The film contains nine [[Vignette (literature)|vignettes]] in which ordinary Iranian citizens struggle against the power of religiously-guided authoritarianism in everyday situations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-18 |title=Terrestrial Verses |url=https://virginiafilmfestival.org/films/terrestrial-verses/#:~:text=Terrestrial%20Verses%20is%20comprised%20of,the%20naming%20of%20a%20newborn. |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=Virginia Film Festival |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Cast ==
* [[Sadaf Asgari]] as Sadaf * Bahram Ark as Bahram * [[Ardeshir Kazemi]] as 100-year-old man * [[Gohar Kheirandish]] as Mehri * Farzin Mohades as Ali * Faezeh Rad as Faezeh * [[Majid Salehi]] as Siamak * Hossein Soleimani as Farbod Akhtari * Sarvin Zabetian as Aram * Arghavan Shabani as Selena
==Production== Asgari and Khatami worked on the script together, but had difficulty finding a producer and ultimately produced the film at their own expense with financial support from friends. The film was then shot within seven days.<ref>[https://kunstundfilm.de/2024/04/irdische-verse/ Alireza Khatami und Ali Asgari, Irdische Verse] Kunst und Film, retrieved 23 April 2024.</ref>
== Release == The film premiered on May 23, 2023, in Cannes, after which it was shown on October 4, 2023, at the BFI Film Festival in London, on October 19, 2023, in the USA during the Chicago International Film Festival and at other international film festivals. The cinema release in Germany was April 11, 2024.<ref>[https://www.berlin.de/kino/_bin/filmdetail.php/298256 Irdische Verse] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422054209/https://www.berlin.de/kino/_bin/filmdetail.php/298256 |date=2024-04-22 }} berlin.de, retrieved 22 April 2024.</ref>
== Awards ==
The film won both the Grand Prix and the FIPRESCI Award at 2024 [[Luxembourg City Film Festival]].<ref name=cineuropa2024>{{cite web | url =https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/458246/ | title =Terrestrial Verses wins big at the Luxembourg City Film Festival | last =Vassilis | first =Economou | date =2024-03-11 | publisher = Cineuropa | access-date =2024-05-31}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|tt27502360}} * [https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/terrestrial-verses-review-1235629653/ Variety Review] * [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/terrestrial-verses-review-ali-asgari-1235507252/ The Hollywood Reporter Review]
[[Category:2023 films]] [[Category:2023 drama films]] [[Category:2023 comedy films]] [[Category:Films about Iran]] [[Category:2023 Persian-language films]] [[Category:Iranian drama films]] [[Category:Anthology films]] [[Category:Films directed by Alireza Khatami]] [[Category:2023 Iranian films]]