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Reading Lolita in Tehran

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As Islamic morality squads stage arbitrary raids in Tehran and as fundamentalists seize hold of the universities, Azar Nafisi, an inspired teacher, secretly gathers six of her most committed female students to read forbidden western classics. Unaccustomed to being asked to speak their minds, they soon removed their veils, their stories intertwining with the novels they read: just like the heroines of Nabokov, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James or Jane Austen, the women in Nafisi's living room dare to dream, hope and love as we experience the complexity of the lives of individuals facing political, moral and personal siege. Reading Lolita in Tehran is a remarkable exploration of women's resilience in revolutionary Iran.

Cast & Crew

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Eran Riklis

Director

Golshifteh Farahani

Actor

Zar Amir-Ebrahimi

Actor

Mina Kavani

Actor

Lara Wolf

Actor

Bahar Beihaghi

Actor

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Critics Reviews

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Wendy Ide Screen International 11/13/2024
This is a stirring, if conventionally-made story of courage and curiosity in the face of oppression. Go to Full Review Tomris Laffly Variety 10/28/2024
Riklis’ adaptation doesn’t always culminate in the grand emotions that Nafisi’s tale is made of. But it still lands as a respectable, aptly rebellious and deeply feminine exercise. Go to Full Review Laura Pérez Fotogramas Jul 25
3/5
[The film] offers a successful overview of Iran's history,...but it misses the powerful stories of each of the women to generate the emotion found in other films about reading as a refuge and gesture of rebellion. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Carlos Boyero El Pais (Spain) Jul 25
It's watchable and enjoyable, but it's also discursive and repetitive. The intentions are very good, but the result less so. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Begoña Piña Cinemanía (Spain) Jul 23
3/5
Culture as a tool against oppression. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Runa R @runa.r Jul 15 This Israeli director – Eran Riklis – made this film in 2024, at the age of 69. It is set in Iran. Films of this kind tend to be made either by Iranian filmmakers in exile, or by Israelis or others considered enemies of the Iranian regime. One way or another, we continue to learn about the horrors inflicted on women in that country. See more Read all reviews
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Reading Lolita in Tehran

Reading Lolita in Tehran (2024) Reading Lolita in Tehran (2024) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis As Islamic morality squads stage arbitrary raids in Tehran and as fundamentalists seize hold of the universities, Azar Nafisi, an inspired teacher, secretly gathers six of her most committed female students to read forbidden western classics. Unaccustomed to being asked to speak their minds, they soon removed their veils, their stories intertwining with the novels they read: just like the heroines of Nabokov, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James or Jane Austen, the women in Nafisi's living room dare to dream, hope and love as we experience the complexity of the lives of individuals facing political, moral and personal siege. Reading Lolita in Tehran is a remarkable exploration of women's resilience in revolutionary Iran.
Director
Eran Riklis
Producer
Marica Stocchi, Gianluca Curti, Moshe Edery, Santo Versace, Eran Riklis, Michael Sharfshtein
Screenwriter
Marjorie David, Azar Nafisi
Distributor
Greenwich Entertainment
Production Co
Minerva Pictures, WestEnd Films, RAI Cinema, Eran Riklis Productions, Rosamont, United King Films, Topia Communications
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Persian
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 10, 2026, Limited
Runtime
1h 47m