Persian Lessons

Persischstunden

Russia, Germany, Belarus 2020
In German, French, Persian, English and Italian, with Finnish and Swedish subtitles
127 min
Suitable for audiences aged 16 and above
Director: Vadim Perelman
Screenplay: Ilja Zofin based on Wolfgang Kohlhaase's novel
Cast: Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Lars Eidinger, Leonie Benesch
Production: Ilya Stewart, Murad Osmann, Pavel Burya, Ilya Zofin, Rauf Atamalibekov, Timur Bekmambetov, Vadim Perelman / LM Media, ONE TWO Films, Hype Film, Belarusfilm
Print Source: Finnkino

Occupied France, 1942. Gilles (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) is arrested by SS soldiers alongside other Jews and sent to a camp in Germany. He narrowly avoids sudden execution by swearing to the guards that he is not Jewish, but Persian. This lie temporarily saves him, but Gilles gets assigned a life-or-death mission: to teach Farsi to the Head of Camp Koch (Lars Eidinger), who dreams of opening a restaurant in Teheran once the war is over. Through an ingenious trick, Gilles manages to survive by inventing words of "Farsi" every day and teaching them to Koch. However, the suspicions of Koch grow every day, and Gilles understands that he will not be able to keep his secret very long...

Production notes

NB! The film's age limit has changed from 12 to 16.

Trailer

Screenings