Ali Asgari is one of the most important and recognized voices in contemporary Iranian cinema, renowned for festival favorites and audience favorites among cinephiles such as Kafka in Tehran and Divine Comedy. At the Venice Film Festival 2026 he appeared in competition with a new film, titled A Little Light, which Teodora will release in Italian cinemas starting on October 1. The same Asgari will begin even earlier, on September 29, a tour of presentations across Italy that will visit cities including Rome, Milan, Bologna, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Florence, Padua, and Naples.
Shot under particularly difficult circumstances, in the crossfire of the ayatollahs’ repression and Trump’s bombings, A Little Light – written by the director together with Shadmehr Rastin, Oscar-nominated for the screenplay of Jafar Panahi’s A Simple Incident – stars Misagh Zareh (The Seed of the Sacred Fig) in the role of a doctor who, after being arrested and seeing his clinic shut down because he treated wounded protesters, has lost all faith in the future and has decided to take his own life. The film follows him in what should be his last day as he visits his brother, his sisters, and his mother to prepare them to face his choice: but the compassion and affection of the family members will ultimately lead him to reconcile with the world.
Here is how Asgari spoke about his film:
I’ve often wondered: when suffering becomes part of our daily life, what gives life its value? Can we ever separate our existence from that of others? Are our choices truly our own, or do they leave traces on the hearts and memories of those around us? Living in Iran, where economic hardship, political uncertainty, and the constant shadow of war have become part of everyday life, I’ve seen how people continue to resist, look after one another, and create small moments of hope. Perhaps what allows us to go on isn’t the absence of suffering, but the invisible ties that bind us, the sense that our existence is interwoven with that of others.
Below are the official Italian trailer and poster for A Little Light.
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