Iranian Cinema Day to be held during 3rd Toji Somon National Film Festival in Tajikistan

Iranian Cinema Day to be held during 3rd Toji Somon National Film Festival in Tajikistan

TEHRAN – The Iranian feature film “The Gambler,” directed by Mohsen Bahari, will be screened during the Iranian Cinema Day in Tajikistan.

Simultaneously with the 3rd edition of the Toji Somon National Film Festival in Dushanbe, “The Gambler,” a production of the Farabi Cinema Foundation, will be featured in the event’s Iranian Cinema Day, Mehr reported.

In each edition of the festival, the screening of works from one or more specific countries is highlighted. In this edition, Iranian Cinema Day is being held to expand cultural and artistic interactions between the two countries.

A social-mystery thriller, “The Gambler” features a cast composed of Kourosh Tahami, Armin Rahimian, Shabnam Qorbani, Amir Norouzi, Roshan Rostampour, and Emad Emami.

The plot centers on a high-stakes cyber-attack targeting one of the country's banks during the 12-day war against Iran. The narrative follows an expert agent who grows suspicious of one of the bank's programmers, sparking a tense race to uncover the truth and safeguard national security.

International distribution for “The Gambler” is handled by the International Affairs Department of the Farabi Cinema Foundation. Previously, the film received the Special Jury Prize at the Across the Lake Film Festival in North Macedonia, and Shabnam Ghorbani won the Golden Crane award for Best Actress for her performance in the film at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Film Festival in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

In the second edition of the Toji Somon National Film Festival last year, the feature film “Knight,” directed by Hossein Namazi, was screened in the festival’s competition section.

The event is Tajikistan's primary international film festival. The festival is organized by the state institution Tojikfilm with support from the Government of Tajikistan and timed to coincide with Tajik Cinema Day, celebrated annually on October 16.

The third edition is scheduled for October 15 to 20, marking the 35th anniversary of Tajikistan's independence. The 2026 theme is "Celebrating True Art." The second edition, held October 15 to 20, 2025, screened more than 40 films from 15 countries under the theme "The History of the Development of the Tajik People."

The festival is part of the Cinema Development Program of the Republic of Tajikistan for 2023 to 2027, a state-backed initiative to strengthen the national film industry, support young creative talent, and expand international cooperation in filmmaking.

Photo: A scene from “The Gambler” by Mohsen Bahari

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source: tehrantimes.com