Iranian director Ali Asgari, who was in Venice Horizons last year with dark satire “Divine Comedy,” will soon be back — in competition this time — with his new feature “A Bit of Light.”
Variety is unveiling a first clip of the timely film, which is being sold internationally by France’s Salaud Morisset and released by Teodora Film Distribuzione in Italy.
Set in contemporary Iran, “A Bit of Light” follows a disillusioned doctor who, after being arrested and having his medical practice shut down, loses faith in the future. “Determined to end his life, he spends one final day visiting his siblings and mother to prepare them for his departure. Their compassion, care and companionship slowly reconcile him with reality,” says the film’s synopsis.
In the “A Bit of Light” clip, we see the film’s protagonist engage in conversation with someone who is helping him remove plants from a room amid the thumping sound of helicopter blades overhead.
“This Trump guy is threatening to bomb here every day,” the person helping the doctor says. “And these window panes are huge,” he adds. “God forbid they should shatter and hurt you.”
The film stars Misagh Zareh, Sadaf Asgari, Forouzan Jamshidnejad, Ramtin Daghigh and Mina Rahimzadeh.
“A Bit of Light” marks Asgari’s sixth feature following “Disappearance” (2017), which also premiered in Venice; “Until Tomorrow” (2022), presented at the Berlinale; “Terrestrial Verses” (2023), selected for Cannes’ Un Certain Regard; “Higher Than Acidic Clouds” (2024), presented at IDFA; and “Divine Comedy,” in Venice Horizons last year. “A Bit of Light” is Asgari’s first film selected for Venice’s main competition.
“I have often wondered: when suffering becomes an inseparable part of our daily existence, what gives life its value? Can we ever separate our own existence from the lives of others? Are our choices truly only our own, or do they leave traces in the hearts and memories of those around us?” Asgari said in his directors’ statement.
“Living in Iran, where economic hardship, political uncertainty, and the constant shadow of war have become part of everyday life, I have witnessed how people continue to endure, to care for one another, and to create small moments of hope. Perhaps what allows us to keep going is not the absence of suffering, but the invisible connections that bind us together, the feeling that our existence is intertwined with the lives of others,” he added.
“‘A Bit of Light’ explores the fragile space between despair and the quiet forces that keep us connected to life. Through ordinary gestures and seemingly insignificant encounters, it reveals how meaning can emerge from the smallest moments: an act of kindness, a familiar presence, a shared silence, or the gentle touch of a mother’s hand,” Asgari continued.
“For me, this film is not a story about sorrow, but about the invisible bonds that make life worth holding onto. Suffering may never disappear completely, and life may remain filled with uncertainty and injustice. But perhaps the value of life has never depended on the absence of pain. Perhaps it lies in our ability to love, to be loved, and in the traces we leave behind in the lives of others,” the director concluded.
“A Bit of Light” is lead produced by Milad Khosravi’s Seven Springs Pictures. The film’s other producers are Sunny Independent Pictures, Zoe Films, Good Measure Productions, Haurvatat Film, MeMo Films,
Salt for Sugar Films and Avantika Singh Desbouvries.
Watch the clip below. The Venice Film Festival will run Sept. 2-12.
