Mortician, written and directed by Abdolreza Kahani, will be screened at the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, DC, as part of the museum’s film program.
The screening will take place on February 6, 2026, at 7:00 PM at the Meyer Auditorium.
Blending dark humor with slow-burn drama, Mortician follows Mojtaba, an Iranian mortician living in exile in Canada. His job is to wash and prepare bodies according to Islamic tradition, a profession that places him in constant proximity to death, ritual, and faith. His quiet, isolated life is disrupted when he encounters an exiled Iranian pop singer in hiding, leading him into a moral and ideological confrontation that challenges his beliefs and sense of responsibility.
The film is made in the director’s distinctive One-Man Cinema approach, in which writing, directing, shooting, sound recording, and much of the production process are carried out by a single filmmaker. This method results in an intimate, stripped-down cinematic language that emphasizes presence, observation, and psychological tension over spectacle.
Through its minimalist style and deeply personal perspective, Mortician explores themes of exile, power, religious authority, and the lingering reach of the Islamic Republic beyond Iran’s borders.
