- The Iranian filmmaker is competing with his latest film in the Official Section of the 71st edition of SEMINCI.
The 71st edition of SEMINCI hosted the Spanish premiere of A Bit of Light, the latest film by Ali Asgari. The Iranian filmmaker returns to Valladolid after winning the Golden Spike for Best Short Film at the 61st edition with The Silence (2016). His new film tells the story of a doctor in Tehran who is arrested and sees his surgery shut down by the authorities. Having decided to take his own life, he spends one final day surrounded by his family, an experience that leads him to reconsider his decision.
The film offers a sharp insight into contemporary Iran, a country grappling with internal and external challenges, particularly those connected to US bombing campaigns. The filmmaker explained that this situation was what prompted him to make such an urgent film: “When I went out walking in the streets, all I could see was sadness and despair. But then I would see children playing, and I realised that there is always some hope”, he said.
Asgari also recalled a particularly moving personal anecdote that found its way into the film. During the June 2025 bombings, his mother called and asked him to come and see her. He assumed there was an emergency, but when he arrived, she was waiting for him with freshly made nougat and hot tea. “We sat down to eat while listening to the terrible things happening outside. It made me wonder how human beings manage to adapt to such atrocities”, he explained.
A portrait of hope
From the film’s title onwards, the filmmaker has sought to introduce a sense of light into a story in which the country’s current situation plays such a significant role. “Life goes on, and human beings always try to find happiness, even if that means adapting to unimaginable circumstances”, Asgari explained.
In this regard, he highlighted two elements that appear throughout the film and serve as symbols of light for the protagonist. The first is the plants, which are consistently visible in the background, representing a lingering sense of hope. “It was very important to me to show that someone who had made that decision still had a very strong connection with life itself”, he said.
The second is the Kurdish dance that brings the film to a close, in a scene where the entire family comes together. “It’s something unique that requires everyone to come together, even if they don’t know one another. It’s a symbol of closeness and friendship that spreads to everyone present”, he added, explaining that ending the film in this way was essential to him.
Humour also features throughout the film. Asgari explained that, in his view, it is always present in our lives, sometimes in ways that are not immediately apparent: “Joy and sadness are not two opposing forces; they coexist. We wouldn’t savour joy so deeply if sadness didn’t exist”, he concluded.
