The Stranger and the Fog

The Brief

Mythology, Rituals, and Dream Logic in an Iranian Film Classic. Bahram Beyzaie’s second feature is considered one of the most enigmatic and distinctive works of the Iranian New Wave. The Stranger and the Fog takes place on Iran’s northern coast and opens with a boat drifting toward the shore of a small village. Rana hopes it’s her husband returning—he’s been lost at sea for a year. But on board, there is only one person: Ayat, a stranger with no memory of how he ended up there. The film does not follow a traditional narrative structure, instead allowing the story to unfold through dreamlike twists and rituals, drawing inspiration from Persian literature, theater, and mythology. When it premiered at the Tehran International Film Festival, it was considered incomprehensible, but in retrospect, the film has been celebrated as a visionary and politically charged tale—a restless dream foreshadowing the revolution to come. Good to know: * Age limit: 9+