All of Tehran is preparing to celebrate the traditional New Year with the festival of fire (“Fireworks Wednesday”), which falls on the last Tuesday night before the official New Year begins. On this auspicious evening, a young woman named Rouhi is employed by a young couple to clean their house. Sweet and naive, Rouhi is engaged to be married, but her innocence is shattered when she finds her employers’ household in crisis over accusations of infidelity.FIREWORKS WEDNESDAY delves into the untidy lives of contemporary Iranians to reveal the complicated relationships of its threedimensional characters, beautifully realized by these seasoned actors. Exploring the social hierarchies of Iranian society, this film gives us a rare glimpse into the private lives of a people often misunderstood by the outside world. FIREWORKS WEDNESDSAY reaches beyond the political rhetoric of today's headlines to show us a society of people who must contend with problems not unlike our own.

“…[a] superb contemporary drama….”
-L.A. WEEKLY

Directed by Asghar Farhadi. With Hedieh Tehrani, Taraneh Alidousti, Hamid Farokh-nejad, Pantea Bahram, and Matin Heydar-nia. Written by Asghar Farhadi and Mani Haghighi. Cinematography by Hossein Jafarian. Edited by Hayedeh Safiyari. Produced by Jamal Sadatian for Boshra Films and Dreamlab. Iran/2006/Color/Fullscreen/104 mins. In Farsi with optional English subtitles.