After a successful inaugural year, the CineIran Festival returns with a new slate of films highlighting the best in contemporary Iranian cinema. The second edition of the festival runs from October 14th-16th, 2016. Featuring a strong selection of films, as well as special In Conversation with acclaimed Iranian actress Gohar Kheirandish, the CineIran Festival is poised for another sensational year. Here are five films playing the festival that we are eager to see:

Lantouri – Saturday, October 15, 2016 – 6:50 PM
One of the most acclaimed films of the year, Reza Dormishian’s newest feature is a massive box office hit in Iran. Starring the duo of Navid Mohammadzadeh and Baran Kosari who delivered memorable performances in his previous film, I Am Not Angry!, Lantouri enters the world of petty criminals and explores one of the most heinous crimes: throwing acid in women’s faces. Energetic, raw and emotionally powerful, Dormishian’s typically stylish film premiered at Berlinale earlier this year.

Sound & Fury – Friday, October 14, 2016 – 6:45 PM
After gracing CineIran last year with his award-winning performance in I Am Diego Maradona, and with Confessions of My Dangerous Mind, which he wrote and directed, Hooman Seyyedi returns with his latest film, Sound & Fury. The film centres on a singer (Navid Mohammadzadeh) whose life story is told through Seyyedi’s innovative, hyper-stylized lens.

Polaris – Saturday, October 15, 2016 – 1:15 PM
A desperate Persian couple, Baran (Alicja Bachelda) and Poorya (Bahram Radan), become stranded in a back alley of Los Angeles confronted by police barricades, unable to return home. The situation quickly spirals out of control when the lights, sirens and civil unrest trigger an episode for Baran, a psychologically traumatized war photographer, who collapses on the street. Poorya is forced to accept an offer of refuge in the home of a reclusive, enigmatic neighbor, Daniel (Coby Ryan McLaughlin) with questionable motives. Baran awakens to find all is not as it seems and finds herself suddenly locked in a struggle to protect her secrets and escape her inevitable return to the Middle East. As the night unfolds, underlying conflict and hidden secrets emerge until the situation ultimately reaches a point of no return.

Rabidity – Sunday, October 16, 2016 – 6:30 PM
Amir Ahmad Ansari’s film noir focuses on two childhood friends, Shahrokh (Milad Keymaram) and Siavash (Alireza Kamalinejad), who have become embroiled in petty crime during their formative years. The hot-headed Shahrokh has a penchant for gambling and has always relied on Siavash for support when his back is pressed up against a wall. While Shahrokh seems destined to continue his life of crime, the married Siavash is seeking to change his ways. One fateful day he chases after a thief and retrieves a bag that he snatched from a woman (Hengameh Ghaziani) on the street. However, when Siavash goes to return the bag to the woman, he finds that there is far more to her than meets the eye…

Born in 1987 – Sunday, October 16, 2016 – 2:00 PM
Majid Tavakkoli’s romantic drama focuses on the ambitions of a generation of young Iranians who often find it impossible to dream. In this unique take on a familiar theme, a young man and woman assume the role of a much wealthier couple in order to spend their days with Tehran’s nouveau riche. The adventure begins with playful games that take the audience on a comic ride, but shifts to horror when the young couple find themselves locked up in an apartment, facing a case of mistaken identities. At once twisted, unpredictable, funny and thrilling, Tavakkoli’s film is a masterful, beautifully acted exercise in suspense.

The full slate of films, tickets, and showtimes can be found at the CineIran Festival website.