Screenings of “Under the Shadow” at Vancouver International Film Festival

With the Iran-Iraq conflict raging on, Shideh (Narges Rashidi) discovers that her Tehran apartment is no sanctuary when a missile crashes through the roof but fails to detonate. The Damoclean dread is further stoked when a djinn manifests and malevolently targets her daughter, proving itself the most terrifying paranormal interloper since The Babadook. Director Babak Anvari has crafted a small-scale masterpiece rich in subtext. A delectable, increasingly unnerving shiver-fest.

• Director Babak Anvari
• Country of Origin: UK/Jordan/Qatar
• Year:2015
• Running Time:84 mins
• Cast: Narges Rashidi, Avin Manshadi, Bobby Naderi, Ray Haratian, Hamidreza Djavdan, Soussan Farrokhnia