Laleh Marzban Wins Orizzonti Best Actress Award at Venice Film Festival 2026 for Moragheb (Falling House)
Laleh Marzban and the international spotlight
The Orizzonti Best Actress award has brought Laleh Marzban into a much larger international conversation.
Venice is one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious film festivals, and its awards can significantly increase the international visibility of actors and films.
For an Iranian actress, a major acting award at Venice carries additional significance because Persian-language cinema has long occupied an important position in international festival culture.
Marzban’s award therefore has relevance beyond the individual film.
It represents an international platform for Iranian acting talent and contemporary Persian cinema.
It also introduces global audiences to a performer whose work is connected to stories emerging from a rapidly changing Iranian society.
The Venice recognition could potentially increase interest from international distributors, programmers, critics, festivals and audiences.
It may also lead to additional opportunities for Marzban in international cinema.
Mohsen Gharaei’s Moragheb at Venice
Director Mohsen Gharaei brought Moragheb to Venice after developing a film that deliberately engages with difficult questions surrounding freedom, social pressure and family.
The official Venice Film Festival describes the film as a production involving Seven Springs Pictures, RaeFilm Studios, 3SIX9 Studios, Basis Berlin Filmproduktion and Zentropa Germany.
The international production structure is significant.
Although the film is deeply rooted in Iran and is performed in Persian, its production network extends across several countries.
This gives Moragheb a transnational identity while retaining a distinctly Iranian cultural and social perspective.
The involvement of German and American production companies also illustrates the increasingly international pathways through which Iranian stories can reach global audiences.
The film’s world-sales representation by Paradise City Sales further connects the production to the international film market.
September 12, 2026 | 10:03 pm
