Mortician: Edinburgh International Film Festival 2025

A very quiet piece focussing on two Iranian exiles living in snowy Canada, which has a sting in its tail. Abdolreza Kahani’s Mortician receives its World Premiere at Edinburgh International Film Festival 2025.

Held in high esteem by the Iranian community in Montreal, solitary mortician Mojtaba (Nima Sadr) makes a living by preparing deceased Iranian immigrants for their burial. It’s a delicate task, and Mojtaba is sensitive to his role; he is a pious man who prays regularly, refuses to drink alcohol, and sends the majority of his salary back to his family who are still living in Iran.

He receives an unusual request from a dissident Iranian singer Jana (Gola), a younger woman who is exiled in Canada and is attempting to hide from the Iranian regime’s widespread tentacles. The quiet, strange relationship between the two becomes the centrepiece of Mortician, as – despite their fundamental differences – the two learn about each other and what they want their lives to mean.

Writer, director, in fact allrounder Abdolreza Kahani uses nothing fancy to make his film. Employing a minimalist approach, the visuals are simple (but not simplistic) and the performances natural and full of humanity. Kahani comments that many of the scenes evolved organically through simply talking to the actors, and full credit must go to Gola and particularly Nima Sadr for the way their characters develop and gently deal with their emotions through the course of the narrative.

The handful of other characters who pop up throughout each get their moment, whether it’s the over-talkative younger woman or the strange friend who needs help to reset his sleeping patterns. They all seem a bit quirky, yet just another part of the community in which Mojtaba moves and whom he finds slightly annoying, but who will have a profound effect on his life.

The narrative’s final, unexpected, sting – while still remaining in tune with the sedate pace of the rest of the film – took my breath away, and will make you rethink everything you have just seen.

Mortician has its world premiere at Edinburgh International Film Festival (14^th – 20^th August 2025) on 16^th August 2025.