Abdolreza Kahani’s Empty Heaven has received strong critical attention following its world premiere at the 2026 Edinburgh International Film Festival, with two British publications, Far Out Magazine and Hibs Observer, highlighting the film in their coverage of this year’s festival.
In an article titled The Best of the 2026 Edinburgh International Film Festival, published on August 21, Far Out Magazine writer Lily Hardman selected Empty Heaven as one of the standout films of this year’s festival.
Hardman highlights Kahani’s distinctive independent approach to filmmaking and his ability to engage with serious subject matter through a lighter and more playful tone. She describes Empty Heaven as notably more comedic than Kahani’s previous film, Mortician, while emphasizing that its humour remains grounded in political realities.
The film’s visual language also receives particular praise. Hardman describes Empty Heaven as both playful and affecting, drawing attention to the artistic quality of its compositions. Her assessment ultimately points to Kahani’s ability to make ambitious filmmaking appear remarkably effortless, despite working within an extremely independent production model.
Far Out also places Empty Heaven within Kahani’s continuing relationship with the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Following A Shrine in 2024 and Mortician in 2025 — which received the Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence — Empty Heaven marks another consecutive appearance for the filmmaker at Edinburgh. The article also notes Kahani’s unconventional production method, with the film shot on an iPhone without a traditional film crew.
Meanwhile, Barry Didcock, Senior Features Writer at Hibs Observer, published a dedicated five-star review of Empty Heaven, titled Empty Heaven – Edinburgh International Film Festival – Five Stars. Didcock awarded the film five stars out of five, adding another significant critical endorsement to the film’s reception at Edinburgh.
Together, Barry Didcock’s five-star review in Hibs Observer and Lily Hardman’s selection of Empty Heaven among Far Out Magazine’s highlights of the 2026 Edinburgh International Film Festival reflect the strong critical response to Kahani’s latest film following its world premiere.
The recognition continues Kahani’s recent presence at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, where his independent filmmaking approach and distinctive cinematic voice have attracted critical attention over three consecutive years.
Sources:
Far Out Magazine — “The Best of the 2026 Edinburgh International Film Festival,” by Lily Hardman, August 21, 2026
Hibs Observer — “Empty Heaven – Edinburgh International Film Festival – Five Stars,” by Barry Didcock, Senior Features Writer
