Diaspora Arts Connection and Roxie Theater proudly present multiple screenings of a lost gem of the pre-revolutionary Iranian cinema. The hypnotic Iranian gothic dysfunctional-family murder mystery you didn’t know you needed, Mohammad Reza Aslani’s subversive thriller was banned in 1979 and thought to be lost forever — until now. Greed, betrayal, poetry, melodrama, this gorgeous new restoration has it all. Chess of the Wind starts Friday, February 18.

Show times: Friday, February 18 at 7:00 PM, Saturday, February 19 at 2:20 PM, Wednesday, February 23 at 7:00 PM, Sunday, February 27 at 1:30 PM, March 5 at 4:35 PM,March 6 at 4:45 PM, March 12 at 7:40 PM.

Cast: Mohammad Ali Keshavarz, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Fakhri Khorvash, Akbar Zanjanpour, Hamid Taati, Shahram Golchin, Annik Shefrazian

Screened publicly just once before it was banned and then lost for decades, this rediscovered jewel of Iranian cinema reemerges to take its place as one of the most singular and astonishing works of the country’s pre-revolution New Wave. A hypnotically stylized murder mystery awash in shivery period atmosphere, Chess of the Wind unfolds in an ornate, candlelit mansion where a web of greed, violence, and betrayal ensnares the heirs to a family fortune as they vie for control of their recently-deceased matriarch’s estate. Melding the influences of European modernism, gothic horror, and classical Persian art, director Mohammad Reza Aslani crafts an exquisitely controlled mood piece that erupts in a stunningly subversive final act in which class conventions, gender roles, and even time itself are upended with shocking ferocity.

Visit the Roxie’s website below to purchase tickets!