Under the Shadow

Set in Tehran during the Iran-Iraq War, Under the Shadow follows Shideh, a woman whose medical studies were interrupted by the political upheaval around her. With her husband sent to the front, she is left to raise their young daughter, Dorsa, alone in an apartment building while bombings shake the city. After a missile strikes the building without exploding, strange events begin to unsettle the household, and Shideh comes to believe that a malevolent presence is targeting her daughter.

Babak Anvari wrote and directed the film, his first feature. The cast is led by Narges Rashidi as Shideh, with Avin Manshadi as Dorsa, Bobby Naderi as Iraj, and supporting turns from Ray Haratian, Hamid Djavadan, and Bijan Daneshmand. The production was a collaboration between British, Jordanian, and Qatari companies, with Lucan Toh, Emily Leo, and Oliver Roskill producing.

Anvari went on to direct Wounds, I Came By, and Hallow Road after this debut. Response to the film split sharply: on IMDb it holds a 6.5 rating from 752 votes, while a critics' score of 8 out of 10 from 93 reviews indicates substantially stronger approval from reviewers than from the wider audience.