The latest documentary by Iranian directors Morteza Ahmadvand and Firouzeh Khosrovani, “Past Future Continuous,” is a personal and touching look at exile, memory, and family ties during times of political unrest. The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival’s Venice Days. It will have its international premiere at IDFA 2025 in Amsterdam from November 13 to 23.
The documentary is about Maryam, who left Iran decades ago to live in the US, leaving her elderly parents behind in Tehran. Maryam talks her parents into putting security cameras in every room of their house because of the growing political unrest and the fact that they are getting older. Maryam watches these cameras from far away, which shows how alone her parents were while she was gone. The movie uses real security camera footage and home movies from childhood to show how far away people feel and how hard it is to go back to their home country.
“Past Future Continuous” changes the story from leaving Iran to what is left behind: the home and land fading over time. The directors say that the work is a philosophical meditation on lost connections, enduring love, and the bittersweet feeling of missing a home that is getting farther away but is still deeply loved. Taskovski Films is promoting the movie, which gives a powerful voice to the Iranian diaspora and the universal theme of exile mixed with memory.
The Envision Competition at IDFA, one of the best documentary film festivals in the world, shows this movie along with a lot of other films that use deeply personal stories to look at important political and social issues.
