Movie still from "Yalda, a night for forgiveness," which was co-produced in France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Lebanon and Iran Pyramide Films

Movie still from "Yalda, a night for forgiveness," which was co-produced in France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Lebanon and Iran Pyramide Films

The second feature from Massoud Bakhshi, “Yalda – A night for forgiveness”, focuses on the plight of a Maryam (Sadaf Asgari), a 22-year-old Iranian woman who is sentenced to death after accidentally killing her 65-year-old husband. Her last hope is to appear on reality TV show “Joy of Forgiveness”, on which her husband’s daughter will decide her fate.  

The film, which previously won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival, was awarded at Sundance on Saturday.