And Life for All
Director: Mohsen Asdaghpour
Iran, 2025, 20 min
Shooting Format:Digital
Festival Year:2026
Category:Narrative Short
Genres:Comedy, Fantasy, Drama-Comedy
Cast:Pooyan Mokri, Behrad Selahvarzi
Crew:Writers: Mohsen Asdaghpour, Maryam Bakhtiari. Producer: Mohsen Asdaghpour. Cinematographer: Mohammadreza Shabanpour; Editor: Bahram Emrani; Composer: Behnam Omran; Set Design: Pouyan Baghandeh; Costume Design: Melina Baghandeh; Sound: Reza Heidari
Email:agranguys@gmail.com
Synopsis
In a world where suicide requires a government permit, Nader, a man seeking to end his life, enters a bureaucratic organization to renew his right to die. As part of the process, he must spend a day with an old friend he has somehow forgotten, a companion whose presence awakens fragments of a buried past. Through this strange and intimate encounter, Nader is forced to face the memories and emotions he tried to leave behind, drawn back to the fragile beauty of the life he believed he was ready to abandon.
Trailer
About the director
Mohsen Asdaghpour is an Iranian filmmaker based in Tehran. His debut short film Where It Begins screened at major international festivals including the Moscow International Film Festival, Fantasia International Film Festival, and Hawai‘i International Film Festival, winning Best International Short Film at the Black Bear Film Festival and receiving multiple nominations at the ISFA Awards and Tehran International Short Film Festival.
His second short film And Life for All (2025) had its world premiere at Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival, followed by its screening at the Calgary International Film Festival, and later at the Tehran International Short Film Festival where it won Best Short Film. Blending magical realism, dark humor, and emotional depth, his work explores personal and societal pressures in Iran while remaining rooted in universal human experiences.
Filmmaker's note
And Life for All is not just a film about death—it’s a reflection on life and the complexities of human existence. Through dark humor and surreal imagery, we wanted to present a story that mirrors the absurdities we sometimes encounter in our own lives. The bureaucratic obstacles that Nader faces are metaphors for the unseen barriers we all face in confronting our deepest desires and fears. My hope is that the film will inspire audiences to pause and think about what it means to live authentically, even when life feels out of our control.