Laleh Marzban Wins Orizzonti Best Actress Award at Venice Film Festival 2026 for Moragheb (Falling House)

Laleh Marzban’s emotional Venice Film Festival moment

The emotional reaction from Laleh Marzban quickly became one of the defining images of the film’s Venice journey.

Rather than responding to the award with a conventional celebratory speech, Marzban appeared overwhelmed by the significance of the moment. Her embrace with Rima Raminfar captured the emotional weight of the recognition.

The two actresses had shared the screen in Moragheb, a film centered on a family confronting the imminent destruction of its home and deep tensions surrounding freedom, control and the future.

The atmosphere surrounding the award was therefore about more than an individual acting prize.

For the cast and filmmakers, the recognition represented international attention for a Persian-language film dealing with difficult social questions.

Marzban’s emotional response also resonated with Iranian audiences around the world.

At the end of her remarks, she delivered a short message of hope to the people of Iran:

“We must not lose hope.”

The sentence became an especially significant part of her Venice appearance.

In the context of Moragheb, the message carries a connection to the film’s themes of fear, uncertainty, family pressure and the desire for a different future.

The film itself is not simply presented as a conventional political drama. According to director Mohsen Gharaei’s official statement, Moragheb examines Iranian society through the intimate environment of a family home. The director describes the house as a place that should provide safety but can instead become a space of confinement when fear, control and social expectations dominate family relationships.

September 12, 2026 | 10:03 pm