CARELESS CRIME

One of the most dazzling and enigmatic films from Iran in recent memory, Shahram Mokri’s mindbending mystery leapfrogs between past and present, fact and fiction to create an unforgettable picture of time not as a straight line, but as a constantly spinning Moebius strip. Inspired by a real-life tragedy (the infamous 1978 Cinema Rex fire that triggered the Iranian Revolution), CARELESS CRIME follows three “timelines” -- of arsonists planning to burn down a movie theatre; of workers and students at the cinema; and of characters within the cinema's film screening -- which may or may not all be happening at the same time. Mokri’s film is a magnificent, multi-faceted puzzlebox all its own. Winner of the Bisato d’Oro Award for Best Original Screenplay at the 77th Venice Film Festival.