The feature film Mortician, written and directed by Iranian filmmaker Abdolreza Kahani, has won two major awards at the SEEYOUSOUND International Music Film Festival 2026 in Turin, Italy.
The film received the Best Feature Film (LP Feature) award from the festival jury as well as the Audience Award, making it one of the most recognized titles of the festival’s twelfth edition. The announcement was made at the closing of the festival, which took place from March 3 to March 8, 2026, at Cinema Massimo in Turin.
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According to reports from Italian film publication Cinecittà News, Kahani’s film stood out in the feature competition and was praised by both the jury and the public attending the festival.
Mortician is a Canadian-produced drama that follows Mojtaba, an Iranian expatriate working in Canada who prepares the bodies of deceased Muslims for burial. His solitary life changes when he encounters a dissident Iranian singer living in exile, leading to an unexpected relationship shaped by displacement, politics, and survival.
The film stars Nima Sadr and Golazin Ardestani, and was written, directed, shot and edited by Kahani as part of his independent filmmaking practice.
Mortician premiered internationally in 2025 and has since appeared at several international festivals. The film previously won the Sean Connery Prize for Feature Filmmaking Excellence at the Edinburg International Film Festival.
The SEEYOUSOUND International Music Film Festival is dedicated to films exploring the relationship between music and cinema, and its program includes fiction and documentary features, shorts, and audiovisual works from around the world.
According to Deadline, MORTICIAN continues its international festival journey with its 13th global screening at the Manchester Film Festival, where it has been officially selected for its Manchester Premiere.
Following screenings at multiple international festivals, the film’s presence at Manchester marks another step in its global run. Additional festival selections are forthcoming and will be announced in due course.
MORTICIAN, written and directed by Abdolreza Kahani, is a stark political black comedy that confronts the moral erosion and institutional violence embedded within the Islamic Republic. Through a restrained and intimate cinematic language, the film examines complicity, exile, and the enduring reach of state power beyond borders.
Like Kahani’s recent works, the film is created in the spirit of his distinctive “One-Man Cinema” approach — a radically independent method in which the filmmaker assumes near-total creative control across the production process, resulting in a raw, immediate, and singular cinematic voice.
Abdolreza Kahani’s feature film MORTICIAN has been officially selected for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2026, where it will have its U.S. Premiere.
Now in its 41st edition, SBIFF is regarded as one of the most significant international film festivals in the United States, recognized for its strong focus on independent and world cinema. The festival is also known as a major meeting point between international filmmakers and the American film industry, taking place annually in Santa Barbara, California.
The 2026 edition of SBIFF brings together an extensive lineup of international premieres alongside a high-profile roster of special guests and honorees, including acclaimed figures such as Sean Penn and Leonardo DiCaprio, among many others from across the global film community.
MORTICIAN, directed by Kahani, continues its international festival journey following previous screenings, and its presentation at SBIFF marks an important step in the film’s North American exposure.
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival runs from February 4 to February 14, 2026.
The feature film MORTICIAN (Canada, 2025), directed by Abdolreza Kahani, has been officially selected for the Contemporary World Cinema section of the Bengaluru International Film Festival.
The Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFES) is one of the major international film festivals in India and Asia, focusing on contemporary world cinema and independent auteur-driven films. The festival is officially accredited by the FIAPF, placing it among internationally recognized and regulated film festivals.
The Contemporary World Cinema section is a competitive category dedicated to films that engage with current social, political, and human concerns through distinct cinematic voices. Films selected in this section are evaluated by the festival’s international jury.
MORTICIAN will be screened as part of the festival’s official program, alongside a curated selection of international works.
The 17th edition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival will take place from January 29 to February 6, 2026, in Bengaluru, India.
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.
