A man enters a nightclub. He is late for an appointment. A woman greets him. They sit down for a moment. It becomes obvious that they share a shady past. What secrets wait to be revealed? Reza Sixo Safai, Helena Mattsson and Julian Sands star in The Persian Connection and we have an exclusive clip for your viewing pleasure. Synopsis: As a child soldier, Behrouz (Reza Sixo Safai) miraculously survived the Iran-Iraq War to be squirreled away to the streets of Los Angeles. After two decades under the ruthless Iranian mobster Cirrus Golshiri (Parviz Sayyad), Behrouz leaves the underworld to follow his American Dream of becoming a "Real Estate Man." But after a chance encounter involving a high-stakes poker game, he is brought back into...
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- 7/5/2017
- Screen Anarchy
After premiering at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival, “The Persian Connection” is finally headed to a theater near you. The debut feature of director Daniel Y-Li Grove, the film is a neon-noir film set in the Persian underbelly of L.A.
Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: The Orchard Picks Up ‘Thelma,’ Samuel Goldwyn Films Buys ‘Gook’ and More
“The Persian Connection” follows Behrouz, a former child soldier who, after surviving the Iran-Iraq War, was smuggled away to the streets of Los Angeles to be monitored by the Iranian mobster Cirrus Golshiri. Wanting to escape from the life of organized crime and under the table dealings, Behrouz dreams of becoming the “American Real Estate Man.”
Twenty years later, a high stakes poker game brings Behrouz and Cirrus face to face. Accused of stealing from his boss, events from Behrouz’s past and present begin to collide and he and his girlfriend,...
Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: The Orchard Picks Up ‘Thelma,’ Samuel Goldwyn Films Buys ‘Gook’ and More
“The Persian Connection” follows Behrouz, a former child soldier who, after surviving the Iran-Iraq War, was smuggled away to the streets of Los Angeles to be monitored by the Iranian mobster Cirrus Golshiri. Wanting to escape from the life of organized crime and under the table dealings, Behrouz dreams of becoming the “American Real Estate Man.”
Twenty years later, a high stakes poker game brings Behrouz and Cirrus face to face. Accused of stealing from his boss, events from Behrouz’s past and present begin to collide and he and his girlfriend,...
- 4/24/2017
- by Kerry Levielle
- Indiewire
Film previously titled The Loner debuted at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival.
Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired North American rights to The Persian Connection, written and directed by Daniel Y-Li Grove.
The film, which premiered at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival, is slated for release in theatres, on demand and digital this summer.
The gangster drama centres on a former child soldier who, after being wrongly accused of stealing from his former boss, must return to the Persian opium underworld of Los Angeles to hunt down stolen drugs as events from his past and present clash, spiraling out of control. Cast include Reza Sixo Safai, Helena Mattsson, Parviz Sayyad and Julian Sands.
“The Persian Connection is an artistic take on a modern gangster film,” said Peter Goldwyn, president of Samuel Goldwyn Films. “Daniel’s imagining of the gritty side of Tehrangeles is a unique world from a neon lens, of which the likes you’ve never seen before...
Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired North American rights to The Persian Connection, written and directed by Daniel Y-Li Grove.
The film, which premiered at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival, is slated for release in theatres, on demand and digital this summer.
The gangster drama centres on a former child soldier who, after being wrongly accused of stealing from his former boss, must return to the Persian opium underworld of Los Angeles to hunt down stolen drugs as events from his past and present clash, spiraling out of control. Cast include Reza Sixo Safai, Helena Mattsson, Parviz Sayyad and Julian Sands.
“The Persian Connection is an artistic take on a modern gangster film,” said Peter Goldwyn, president of Samuel Goldwyn Films. “Daniel’s imagining of the gritty side of Tehrangeles is a unique world from a neon lens, of which the likes you’ve never seen before...
- 3/21/2017
- ScreenDaily
Film previously titled The Loner debuted at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival.
Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired North American rights to The Persian Connection, written and directed by Daniel Y-Li Grove.
The film, which premiered at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival, is slated for release in theatres, on demand and digital this summer.
The gangster drama centres on a former child soldier who, after being wrongly accused of stealing from his former boss, must return to the Persian opium underworld of Los Angeles to hunt down stolen drugs as events from his past and present clash, spiraling out of control. Cast include Reza Sixo Safai, Helena Mattsson, Parviz Sayyad and Julian Sands.
“The Persian Connection is an artistic take on a modern gangster film,” said Peter Goldwyn, president of Samuel Goldwyn Films. “Daniel’s imagining of the gritty side of Tehrangeles is a unique world from a neon lens, of which the likes you’ve never seen before...
Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired North American rights to The Persian Connection, written and directed by Daniel Y-Li Grove.
The film, which premiered at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival, is slated for release in theatres, on demand and digital this summer.
The gangster drama centres on a former child soldier who, after being wrongly accused of stealing from his former boss, must return to the Persian opium underworld of Los Angeles to hunt down stolen drugs as events from his past and present clash, spiraling out of control. Cast include Reza Sixo Safai, Helena Mattsson, Parviz Sayyad and Julian Sands.
“The Persian Connection is an artistic take on a modern gangster film,” said Peter Goldwyn, president of Samuel Goldwyn Films. “Daniel’s imagining of the gritty side of Tehrangeles is a unique world from a neon lens, of which the likes you’ve never seen before...
- 3/21/2017
- ScreenDaily
Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired North American rights to The Persian Connection, a noir thriller written and directed by Daniel Y-Li Grove that played at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival as The Loner. Reza Sixo Safai, Helena Mattsson, Julian Sands and Parviz Sayyad star in the pic, which now will aim for a summer release in theaters and on demand. Safai stars as Behrouz, who after surviving the Iran-Iraq War as a child soldier moved to Los Angeles to serve two decades…...
- 3/21/2017
- Deadline
There really are only so many different stories. The trick is to tell one that feels new in more than just the details. Consider the following setup — a criminal trying to go straight is pulled back into the world of violence he so desperately tried to leave behind. We’ve seen it a hundred times before from Les Miserables to Swordfish, but what makes the best examples stand out are the characters and the world around which the story unfolds. Writer/director Daniel Grove‘s feature debut, The Loner, is set in modern day Los Angeles, but it’s an L.A. that feels new and fresh with nearly every frame. Behrouz (Reza Sixo Safai) was a child soldier in Iran during his country’s war with Iraq in the 1980’s, but after escaping the slaughter at the front lines he made his way west to the land of opportunity. What...
- 4/17/2016
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
While I enjoyed The Loner, I’ll admit that it doesn’t initially have its bearings straight. Writer/Director Daniel Grove opens on an Iranian child being beckoned into martyrdom, but then a tonal shift to 1980s Los Angeles brings about neon-drenched noir settings that some may struggle to interpret. We try to make connections, yet the puzzle is still unclear in its early stages.
Fortunately, as clarity explains itself, a neo-noir-ish, stranger-with-no-name kind of gangster film plays out, exploring an Iranian/Russian underground region of La that few have witnessed (if it even exists?). Patience is certainly a virtue, but you’ll be paid off in time – just don’t jump to any jumbled conclusions too quickly.
Reza Sixo Safai stars as Behrouz, a former Iranian gangster who finds himself being sucked back into a sleazy underworld crime syndicate. His old boss, Cirrus (Parviz Sayyad), accuses him of stealing merchandise,...
Fortunately, as clarity explains itself, a neo-noir-ish, stranger-with-no-name kind of gangster film plays out, exploring an Iranian/Russian underground region of La that few have witnessed (if it even exists?). Patience is certainly a virtue, but you’ll be paid off in time – just don’t jump to any jumbled conclusions too quickly.
Reza Sixo Safai stars as Behrouz, a former Iranian gangster who finds himself being sucked back into a sleazy underworld crime syndicate. His old boss, Cirrus (Parviz Sayyad), accuses him of stealing merchandise,...
- 4/16/2016
- by Matt Donato
- We Got This Covered
Los Angeles hosts annual showcase featuring extensive array of work from contemporary and veteran film-makers
The annual celebration of Iranian cinema run by the University of California, Los Angeles, is a vital occasion for two dynamic and overlapping constituencies: cinephiles and Iranians in Los Angeles. The festival's screenings routinely draw large audiences, eager to see films from a nation distinguished by its rich and sustained contribution to world cinema. This year's programme underscored the depth and diversity of cinematic voices in Iranian life.
In recent years, the archive has expanded the scope to include older films, working with Iran's national film archive and exiled filmmakers such as Parviz Sayyad to present seminal works such as The Lor Girl (Dokhtar-e Lor; 1933), directed by Ardeshir Irani; Masoud Kimiai's Caesar (Qaisar; 1969); and Sayyad's own Dead End (Bon Bast; 1977). This year, the festival began with a screening of Bahram Beyzaie's first feature film,...
The annual celebration of Iranian cinema run by the University of California, Los Angeles, is a vital occasion for two dynamic and overlapping constituencies: cinephiles and Iranians in Los Angeles. The festival's screenings routinely draw large audiences, eager to see films from a nation distinguished by its rich and sustained contribution to world cinema. This year's programme underscored the depth and diversity of cinematic voices in Iranian life.
In recent years, the archive has expanded the scope to include older films, working with Iran's national film archive and exiled filmmakers such as Parviz Sayyad to present seminal works such as The Lor Girl (Dokhtar-e Lor; 1933), directed by Ardeshir Irani; Masoud Kimiai's Caesar (Qaisar; 1969); and Sayyad's own Dead End (Bon Bast; 1977). This year, the festival began with a screening of Bahram Beyzaie's first feature film,...
- 7/31/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
Banning the celebrated director from making films is the latest step in the regime's attempt to murder the nation's creative soul
A spectre is haunting the Islamic Republic of Iran – the spectre of freedom. All the powers of the old guard have entered a holy alliance to exorcise it: the ayatollahs and their warlords, Ahmadinejad and Khamenei, hanging judges and paramilitary vigilantes.
To try to exorcise that spectre, the custodians of the sacred terror will go to any lengths. But have they gone just a bit too far this time?
What exactly does it mean to condemn a globally celebrated film-maker who has done nothing but bring credit to his profession and glory to his homeland, to six years in prison, and on top of that to ban him from making a film for 20 years, from writing any script, from attending any film festival outside his country, or giving any...
A spectre is haunting the Islamic Republic of Iran – the spectre of freedom. All the powers of the old guard have entered a holy alliance to exorcise it: the ayatollahs and their warlords, Ahmadinejad and Khamenei, hanging judges and paramilitary vigilantes.
To try to exorcise that spectre, the custodians of the sacred terror will go to any lengths. But have they gone just a bit too far this time?
What exactly does it mean to condemn a globally celebrated film-maker who has done nothing but bring credit to his profession and glory to his homeland, to six years in prison, and on top of that to ban him from making a film for 20 years, from writing any script, from attending any film festival outside his country, or giving any...
- 12/24/2010
- by Hamid Dabashi
- The Guardian - Film News
This is the review of the Stoning of Soraya M, starring Shohreh Aghdashloo, Mozhan Marnò, James Caviezel, Navid Negahban, Ali Pourtash, David Diaan, Parviz Sayyad, Vida Ghahremani and Vachik Mangassarian. The film is directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh. When thinking of a film that shows bravery and heroism, and a battle between the power-hungry, and those that fight for truth, any number of blockbuster movies may spring to mind. Yet the heroism and bravery in this film does not have a CGI background, nor does it have futuristic gadgets or fast cars. But what this film has more than any other I have seen in recent years, if ever before, is a soul. The Stoning of Soraya M tells the story of the true events leading up to the stoning of an innocent woman in Iran in 1986. It is only because of the bravery and heroism of Soraya’s aunt, Zahra,...
- 10/23/2010
- by Gabriella Apicella
- Pure Movies
Chicago – Who in the world would want to see this film? It’s as excruciating and appalling as the title promises, complete with simplistic depictions of good and evil. Like the bestselling novel from which it’s based, the film aims to raise global awareness about the Islamic practice of stoning women to death, a fundamentalist tradition that still occurs today. Yet are the filmmakers harboring deeper intentions?
It’s impossible to see “The Stoning of Soraya M.” without thinking of the film that it resembles down to its very title: “The Passion of the Christ.” Both films were produced by Steve McEveety, whose company Mpower Pictures markets films to a decidedly right-wing Christian audience. His rollicking patriotic comedy “An American Carol” reduced suicide bombers to sight gags, while “Stoning” reduces the vast majority of its Islamic characters to a bloodthirsty mob indiscernible from the Jews in “Passion.” Does McEveety...
It’s impossible to see “The Stoning of Soraya M.” without thinking of the film that it resembles down to its very title: “The Passion of the Christ.” Both films were produced by Steve McEveety, whose company Mpower Pictures markets films to a decidedly right-wing Christian audience. His rollicking patriotic comedy “An American Carol” reduced suicide bombers to sight gags, while “Stoning” reduces the vast majority of its Islamic characters to a bloodthirsty mob indiscernible from the Jews in “Passion.” Does McEveety...
- 3/16/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
See new images in from the Roadside Attractions drama "The Stoning of Soraya M.," starring Shohreh Aghdashloo, Jim Caviezel, Mozhan Marnò, Navid Negahban, Ali Pourtash and Parviz Sayyad. The film opens in limited areas on June 26th and is helmed by Cyrus Nowrasteh. Stephen McEveety and John Shepherd produce the film written by Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh and Cyrus Nowrasteh. The talented Aghdashloo was last seen film-wise in "The Nativity Story." The Iranian actress has finished filming "In NorthWood" directed and written by D.W. Brown where she stars with Nick Stahl Olivia Wilde, Dash Mihok and Pruitt Taylor Vince. On TV, she starred in "House of Saddam." In a world of secrecy, corruption and injustice, a single courageous voice can tell a true story that changes everything.
- 6/22/2009
- Upcoming-Movies.com
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