Ali Asgari (director)

Ali Asgari
Asgari in 2025
Born25 July 1982 (1982-07-25) (age 44)
Tehran, Iran
OccupationsFilm director, Screenwriter, Producer

Ali Asgari (Persian: علی عسگری; born 25 July 1982) is an Iranian film director, screenwriter and producer.

Life and career

Born in Tehran, after his 2007 graduation from the Islamic Azad University Asgari went to study cinema in Italy.[1] After directing several shorts, in 2016 he directed a segment of the anthology film In the Same Garden.[2]

Asgari made his solo feature film debut in 2017 with Disappearance, which premiered at the 74th Venice International Film Festival in the Horizons sidebar and was later screened at the 42nd Toronto Film Festival.[3][4] In 2022, his film Until Tomorrow was screened at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival.[4][5] The satirical film Terrestrial Verses he co-directed with Alireza Khatami was entered into the Un Certain Regard section of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival; upon his return in Iran, Asgari got his passport temporarily confiscated and was banned from directing other films.[6] In 2025, Asgari directed Divine Comedy, which was selected for the Orizzonti competition at the 82nd Venice Film Festival.[7]

Filmography

Feature films

Year English Title Original Title Notes
2016 In the Same Garden [8]
2017 Disappearance [9]
2022 Until Tomorrow تا فردا [10]
2023 Terrestrial Verses آیه های زمینی Co-directed with Alireza Khatami[11]
2024 Higher Than Acidic Clouds Documentary[12]
2025 Divine Comedy کمدی الهی [13]
2026 A Bit of Light کمی نور

Short films

Year Title Notes
2011 Tonight Is Not a Good Night for Dying[14]
2012 Barbie[14]
2013 More Than Two Hours[15]
2014 The Baby[16]
2015 La douleur[14]
2016 The Silence[17] Co-directed with Farnoosh Samadi
2018 Delay[14]
2020 Witness[14]
Pilgrims[14] Co-directed with Farnoosh Samadi
2022 Over Mij[14]
2023 My Name Is Aseman[14] Co-directed with Gianluca Mangiasciutti

Jury memberships

Asgari has served on the juries of several international film festivals. In 2022, he was a member of the International Competition jury at the 41st Istanbul Film Festival.[18]

In 2024, he served on the international jury of the Feature Film Competition at the Festival del Cinema Africano, d'Asia e America Latina in Milan,[19] the Short Film Competition jury at the 40th Warsaw Film Festival,[20] and the Orizzonti jury at the 81st Venice International Film Festival.[21]

In 2025, he served on the Feature Film Competition jury of the 21st Zurich Film Festival,[22] the Rebels With a Cause Competition jury at the 29th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival,[23] and the Frontier Competition jury at the 17th DMZ International Documentary Film Festival.[24]

In 2026, he served on the Short Films and La Cinef Jury at the 79th Cannes Film Festival[25] and on the Burning Lights Competition jury at Visions du Réel.[26]

References

  1. ↑ Nabavi, Firouzeh (17 May 2023). "'Reading Lolita in Tehran' Movie, With Farahani, Gets Cannes Festival Showcase". Kayhan Life. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  2. ↑ Levine, Sydney (22 September 2017). "TIFF 17 Discovery: Iran's 'Disappearance' directed by Ali Asgari". Sydney's Buzz. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  3. ↑ Hunter, Allan (8 September 2017). "'Disappearance': Venice Review". Screen International. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  4. 1 2 Wong, Silvia (9 February 2022). "Berlin 2022: Screen's guide to the Panorama titles". Screen International. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  5. ↑ Johnson, Douglas (15 February 2022). "Berlinale 2022 review: Until Tomorrow (Ali Asgari)". International Cinephile Society. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  6. ↑ Vivarelli, Nick; Keslassy, Elsa (1 September 2023). "Iranian Filmmaker Ali Asgari Banned From Traveling, Making Movies After Cannes Premiere of 'Terrestrial Verses'". Variety. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  7. ↑ "Goodfellas Boards Ali Asgari's Venice Title 'Divine Comedy'". Deadline. 15 July 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  8. ↑ "In the Same Garden". Jaibo Films. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  9. ↑ "Disappearance". La Biennale di Venezia. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "Ta farda". Berlin International Film Festival. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  11. ↑ "Terrestrial Verses". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "Higher than Acidic Clouds". International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "Divine Comedy (Komedie Elahi)". La Biennale di Venezia. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Ali Asgari". International Film Festival Rotterdam. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  15. ↑ "More Than Two Hours". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  16. ↑ "Ali Asgari". Films Boutique. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  17. ↑ "The Silence". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
  18. ↑ "Until Tomorrow". Istanbul Film Festival. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  19. ↑ "Programme 2024". Festival del Cinema Africano, d'Asia e America Latina. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  20. ↑ "40 WFF Awards". Warsaw Film Festival. 19 October 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  21. ↑ "The Juries for the Orizzonti section and the "Luigi De Laurentiis" Award for a Debut Film". La Biennale di Venezia. 20 July 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  22. ↑ "Reinaldo Marcus Green and Matthew Heineman to preside the juries of 21st ZFF". Zurich Film Festival. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  23. ↑ "PÖFF29 Reveals Lineups for Critics' Picks and Rebels With a Cause Competitions". Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. 21 October 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  24. ↑ "Jury 2025". DMZ International Documentary Film Festival. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  25. ↑ "Short Films and La Cinef Jury of the 79th Festival de Cannes". Festival de Cannes. 28 April 2026. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  26. ↑ "Jury 2026". Visions du Réel. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
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