There Is No Evil(bcSunday)

Known for his staunch criticism of Iran’s theocratic government, Mohammad Rasoulof returns with a startling work made in violation of a government filmmaking ban. Shot in secret and told in four discrete chapters, There Is No Evil reveals the mechanism behind Iran’s prolific death penalty: ordinary military men tasked with carrying out the executions. Lensing from the perspectives of four innocuous people: middle-age man enjoying his family life, raw recruit first tasked with implementing the execution, young man going to celebrate the birthday of his girlfriend, and a doctor returned to nature, Rasoulof explores the paradoxical dilemma faced by men living their lives while performing the unthinkable.

The film won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, but Rasoulof was barred from leaving Iran and was unable to receive the award. Like his previous features, There Is No Evil has yet to screen in Rasoulof’s homeland of Iran.