There Is No Evil

Working in defiance of a lifelong ban on filmmaking, dissident director Mohammad Rasoulof delivers a piercing drama about a subject he knows well: the costs of living under a repressive, brutal government. Winner of the Golden Bear, the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival, There Is No Evil is a film in four chapters, each telling a different story related to the death penalty in contemporary Iran. The first story concerns a family man who, as we come to see, pays a grave moral price for his comfortable middle-class life. The second and third chapters focus on conscripted soldiers – in Iran, it is often these men who are forced to perform executions – and both segments explore the tension and turmoil that can come with such harsh coercion. The final section involves a family secret, which brings the film to its powerful conclusion. Suspenseful, mysterious, and shot through with a sense of urgency, Rasoulof's work bears the mark of an artist who sets his own terms – and who knows just how to captivate an audience.

"There Is No Evil" comes across as four films for the price of one, none of its segments anemic, and each contributing fresh insights to the paradoxes of capital punishment in Iran.” -- Peter Debruge, Variety

“Brilliant. A riveting thriller…each chapter involves a new angle
on the emotional stakes at hand." -- Eric Kohn, Indiewire

“Makes its point with a shock of recognition, like the best Iranian films have led us to expect.” -- Deborah Young, The Hollywood Reporter

“A brave and impassioned work. The only power citizens have in the face of tyranny is the power to say no.” -- Lee Marshall, Screen Daily

“Sav[es] one of the most unexpected plot twists in all of cinema to the very last shot.” -- Diego Semerene, Slant Magazine

WINNER! Golden Bear (Best Film) - Berlinale 2020
GRAND PRIZE WINNER! Heartland International Film Festival 2021
Audience Award for Best Film, Seattle 2021
Audience Award, Calgary 2020
Audience Award - Philadelphia 2020
Audience Award - Sao Paulo 2020
Official Selection - Telluride 2020