Laleh Marzban Wins Orizzonti Best Actress Award at Venice Film Festival 2026 for Moragheb (Falling House)
Who is Laleh Marzban?
Laleh Marzban is an Iranian actress who has established herself through work in Iranian cinema and television before gaining increasing international visibility.
Her performance in Moragheb (Falling House) represents an important step in that international trajectory.
The Venice Film Festival has historically been one of the most important international platforms for Iranian cinema. Iranian filmmakers and actors have repeatedly used major European festivals to bring Persian-language stories to global audiences.
Marzban’s Orizzonti Best Actress award therefore places her within a long tradition of Iranian performers receiving international recognition for work that combines individual character drama with broader social themes.
Her Venice victory is particularly notable because Moragheb is performed in Persian and is an international co-production involving Iran, the United States and Germany. The official festival listing confirms those three countries as the film’s production countries.
The award also expands international interest in Marzban’s previous acting work and future projects.
Searches for Laleh Marzban Venice Film Festival, Laleh Marzban award, Laleh Marzban Best Actress, Laleh Marzban Moragheb, and Laleh Marzban 2026 are likely to increase following the Venice announcement.
Moragheb (Falling House): the film behind the award
Moragheb, internationally titled Falling House, is directed by Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Gharaei.
The film runs for 130 minutes and is in Persian. Its principal cast includes Laleh Marzban, Farhad Aslani, Rima Raminfar and Elena Khakbazan. The screenplay was written by Mohsen Gharaei and Amirmohammad Abdi, with cinematography by Farshad Mohammadi.
The film was selected for the Orizzonti competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival.
It was screened during the festival on September 3 and September 4 for public audiences, following an earlier press and industry screening.
Its presence at Venice gave international audiences and critics an opportunity to encounter a contemporary Iranian story through a major European festival platform.
The title Falling House immediately suggests instability.
The central house is not simply a physical location. It functions as a metaphor for a family and, on a wider level, a society under pressure.
According to the official synopsis, a modest family living on the outskirts of Tehran faces the imminent destruction of its home as part of a major redevelopment project.
At the same time, Rashid, the father and a prison guard, is accused of corruption.
His eldest daughter, Ensi, secretly plans to leave Iran to become a model.
As bulldozers approach the family home, existing tensions become increasingly difficult to contain.
The physical destruction of the house therefore intersects with emotional and generational conflict.
The family is threatened from outside while simultaneously experiencing profound divisions within.
September 12, 2026 | 10:03 pm
