Laleh Marzban Wins Orizzonti Best Actress Award at Venice Film Festival 2026 for Moragheb (Falling House)
Why the Venice Film Festival matters for Iranian cinema
The Venice Film Festival has played an important role in bringing Iranian cinema to international audiences.
Over the decades, Iranian filmmakers have gained recognition at Cannes, Berlin, Venice and other major international festivals.
These festivals offer filmmakers an opportunity to tell stories that might otherwise remain outside the global mainstream.
The international success of Iranian cinema has often been associated with its ability to transform everyday experiences into compelling cinematic narratives.
Family relationships, economic pressure, social restrictions, migration, generational differences and questions of identity have frequently appeared in Iranian films.
Moragheb continues this tradition while presenting its own contemporary perspective.
Its setting on the outskirts of Tehran and its focus on the threatened family home create a story that is both locally specific and internationally understandable.
The question of losing a home is universal.
The desire of a young person to determine their own future is universal.
The tension between parents and children is universal.
But the film explores those experiences through the particular social and cultural realities of Iran.
That combination is one reason international festivals remain important platforms for Iranian filmmakers.
Laleh Marzban’s message: “We must not lose hope”
Perhaps the most memorable part of Marzban’s Venice appearance was her message of hope.
After receiving the Orizzonti Best Actress Award, the actress ended her remarks with the words:
“We must not lose hope.”
The sentence is brief, but its meaning is amplified by the circumstances surrounding the film.
Moragheb is a story about a family facing the destruction of its home.
It is a story about young people trying to imagine a different future.
It is a story about fear and pressure.
Yet the film also leaves space for possibility.
Marzban’s message therefore fits naturally with the emotional world of the film.
Rather than presenting the award simply as an individual career achievement, her words directed attention toward the people of Iran.
That moment is likely to remain one of the most memorable images from the Iranian presence at Venice Film Festival 2026.
September 12, 2026 | 10:03 pm
