مغزهای کوچک زنگ‌زده | Sheeple / Maghzhaye Koochak Zang Zadeh (2018)

On the edge of Alborz province, close to Ghezel Hesar prison, lies a settlement of scrap collectors, small-time dealers and families with almost nothing. Maghzhaye Koochak Zang Zadeh, Houman Seyyedi's crime drama, is set there and follows one family pulled apart by violence and drugs.

A Family Under Shakour's Rule

Shakour, Shahin, Shohreh and Shahrouz live with their parents in the settlement. The pressures of the place, and above all the drug trade, shape every relationship in the house. Navid Mohammadzadeh and Farhad Aslani play two of the brothers, and the conflict between them carries the story as crimes and betrayals pile up and the family starts to come apart.

Who else is in the cast

Farid Sajjadi Hosseini, Nazanin Bayati, Navid Pourfaraj, Marjan Ettefaghian and Hamoun Seyyedi complete the main cast.

Houman Seyyedi Writes and Directs

Seyyedi wrote and directed the film and co-edited it with Mehdi Saadi. Saeed Saadi produced. Peyman Shadmanfar was the director of photography and Bamdad Afshar composed the score. The film was made in 1396 (2017) and first shown in the Sudaye Simorgh competition of the 36th Fajr Film Festival, before opening in Iranian cinemas on 4 Mehr 1397, distributed by Nikan Film.

Fajr and Iran Cinema Celebration Honours

At Fajr the film received eleven nominations and won four Crystal Simorghs, among them best screenplay. It also won the audience award for best film. At the 21st Iran Cinema Celebration it received fourteen nominations, and Farhad Aslani won best supporting actor. Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter called it the most exciting genre film in the Fajr market, with real potential to reach audiences abroad.

A Hard-Edged Look at the City's Margins

The film belongs to a group of Iranian crime dramas that turn the camera on neighbourhoods rarely seen on screen. Seyyedi's direction keeps the pace high, but the focus stays on the family and on how poverty and addiction limit the choices of each sibling. Mohammadzadeh's intense lead performance is at the centre, with Aslani's role adding weight to the brothers' rivalry.

Maghzhaye Koochak Zang Zadeh Q&A

For viewers who like crime films with a strong social backdrop, this is one of the defining Iranian titles of the late 2010s.