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Iran’s official position is that Israel is the “little Satan,” and the US is the “big Satan.” Israel’s official position is that Iran and its proxies pose a grave existential threat to the nation. The US’s official position is that Iran must not be allowed to have nuclear weapons.
This tense three-way stand-off is at the core of “Tatami,” the first film to be co-directed by an Israeli filmmaker and an Iranian filmmaker. The intense political thriller is loosely based on an international incident that took place at the 2018 World Judo Championships when an Iranian contestant was ordered to withdraw to avoid facing an Israeli opponent.
Oscar-winning Israeli director Guy Nattiv (“Skin,” “Golda”) created the suspenseful sports drama with Iranian filmmaker Zar Amir, who won the 2022 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award for “Holy Spider,” and who co-stars in the film as the coach faced with a life-or-death decision.
Amir has been living in exile since 2008 when she faced a prison sentence and 99 lashes after a homemade sex tape purportedly featuring her was leaked online. Banned from appearing in Iranian films and television for 10 years, she fled to Paris where she rebuilt a successful career as an actress, producer and director.
Secretly filmed in Georgia in the former Soviet Union during the Iranian protests of 2022, “Tatami” premiered to critical acclaim at the Venice International Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Freedom of Expression Award.
For the last 20 years, Iranian cinema has garnered a reputation for artistic excellence and political import among film critics, and major international film festivals have repeatedly honored Iranian directors. Asghar Farhadi is perhaps the most prominent Iranian filmmaker and is one of the few directors worldwide to have won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film twice, for the family drama “A Separation” (2011) and the moral drama “The Salesman” (2016).
Most recently, the 2024 Oscar-nominated political drama written, co-produced and directed by Mohammad Rasoulof, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” won the special jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival. The fictional narrative is combined with real images of the 2022–2023 protests in Iran that were violently suppressed by Iranian authorities. Ahead of its premiere, Rasoulof was sentenced to eight years in prison by Iranian authorities and fled to Germany.
At the 2025 Telluride Film Festival, I attended the tribute to famed Iranian filmmaker Jafer Panahi, which included the US premiere of “It Was Just an Accident,” which won the Palme D’Or at Cannes. During the onstage interview following the tribute program, Jafer explained that the film was shot in secret without the required government approval, a common practice among Iranian dissident directors. I had also seen his 2013 film “Manuscripts Don’t Burn” at Telluride, which was also filmed secretly.
During the interview, Rasoulof described his two previous imprisonments for “propaganda against the regime” and his arduous and dangerous escape to Europe in May, after being sentenced to eight years in prison as well as flogging, a fine and confiscation of his property.
Israeli cinema has also flourished in the 21st century, and Israeli directors have been increasingly prolific as well as commercially successful and artistically lauded.
“Tatami,” an Israeli produced film, is one of five festival films from Israel, all of which demonstrate the diversity and vitality of Israeli cinema. (Click here to read more about our Israeli titles.)
Shot in black and white, “Tatami” features stunning cinematography and riveting performances that add drama to the life-like, high-stakes story of defiance of state oppression.
The New York Times observed: “The mounting tensions of these moving parts — and steely performances by Mandi and Amir — make for an engrossing thriller fueled by female rage.”
Film Inquiry proclaimed: “Not only is it one of the best films of the year, but it might just be one of the most important.”
RogerEbert.com called it: “A superb example of pop cultural translation that freshens up the clichés of the sports corruption thriller and gives the actors and filmmakers a chance to flex their considerable skills.”
Film Threat wrote: “The filmmakers similarly keep the audience off-balance for the duration of this impeccable drama. An indictment of a regime but also a look at the strength that perseveres despite the most dire circumstances, this film, and its lead star, deserve all the upcoming love at the award circuit.”
“Tatami” screens Friday, October 31 at noon and Sunday, November 2, at 3 pm in the Grace Gamm Theater. Purchase tickets here.
