Black Rabbit, White Rabbit

Remaking a classic Iranian film in Tajikistan, the director insists that his movie replicate the original in every detail, down to shot compositions and period-specific props, including one real gun. Worried about bringing a live weapon onto the set, the film’s armorer hopes to swap in a replica undetected as a cavalcade of extras arrives and a curious young woman demands an audition. Meanwhile, across town, a woman recovering from a car crash suspects that she’s the victim of a conspiracy. As the film shoot proceeds, reality and fiction begin to blur amid rising tensions stoked further by the presence of the gun.

Expertly weaving together disparate narrative threads, director Shahram Mokri (2020’s Careless Crime) returns to the Festival with this bracing meditation on cinema, art making, and modern life. Deploying masterfully choreographed long takes (some clocking in at over twenty minutes), surreal visual effects, and a wry, winking sense of humor, Black Rabbit. White Rabbit layers stories within stories within stories, all building toward an unforgettable, showstopping climax.