Iranian Director Rejects Hope After January Massacre, Focuses on ‘Small Specks of Light’

Ali Asgari, the Iranian director behind Disappearance, Terrestrial Verses, and Divine Comedy, has abandoned grand visions of a brighter future for his country. Instead, he now clings to what he calls “small specks of light” – moments of simple human connection that can sustain people through dark times. Speaking after the premiere of his sixth feature A Bit of Light at the Venice Film Festival, Asgari revealed how the January massacre in Iran fundamentally altered his outlook and shaped his latest work.

“In Iran, we don’t have high hopes for the future anymore,” he stated plainly during his conversation with Variety. “We’ve been waiting for good news for so many years, and it never came.” The filmmaker’s bleak assessment reflects the reality faced by millions of Iranians who have witnessed years of protests met with brutal government crackdowns. Yet Asgari refuses to surrender to total despair, choosing instead to focus on incremental progress and everyday acts of kindness.

“For now, let’s just stick to them so that we can take the next step,” he explained, referring to those fleeting moments of hope. His film deliberately celebrates simple things – family bonds, acts of compassion, and the quiet dignity of ordinary people navigating extraordinary circumstances. These elements form the emotional core of A Bit of Light, which competed in Venice’s main competition and draws heavily from Asgari’s personal observations of life in Iran following the violent events of January.

Forgetting the Simple Things

The director expressed concern that Iranians have lost sight of basic human connections amid constant crisis and trauma. “Right now, especially in my country, we are forgetting about them,” Asgari said. “We’re forgetting about our families and helping others. We are surrounded by disaster every day, all the time, always expecting something horrible to happen.” This pervasive atmosphere of dread and anticipation of violence has fundamentally altered daily life, leaving people in a state of perpetual anxiety.

“When we wake up, we don’t know if we’ll be able to handle it until nighttime,” he observed. “We’re all living in a dangerous world right now.” For Asgari, the success of his film would not be measured by critical acclaim or box office numbers, but by whether it inspires viewers to reconnect with loved ones in tangible ways. “If after watching this film someone goes to their mother and takes her hand, that’s enough,” he declared.

A Doctor’s Journey From Service to Despair

The protagonist of A Bit of Light embodies these themes through his harrowing personal journey. Misagh Zareh plays a kind doctor who becomes disillusioned following his arrest by authorities. With his medical practice forcibly shut down and his sense of purpose destroyed, the character contemplates ending his life. True to his methodical nature, however, he decides first to inform his family and make appropriate arrangements before carrying out his plan.

Asgari drew direct inspiration from the real experiences of Iranian physicians during the January crackdown. “Some doctors in Iran were the only witnesses to what was really happening after the massacre in January,” he noted. “They faced so much death and saw so many injured. We couldn’t even talk about it.” In January, after weeks of protests against the government, authorities opened fire on demonstrators, killing and wounding scores of people. Medical professionals found themselves on the frontlines of this tragedy, treating victims while bearing silent witness to state violence.

The Weight of Silent Grief

“I saw so many families mourning their children,” Asgari recalled. “It had affected so many people’s lives.” His protagonist remains deeply connected to his family despite his suicidal intentions, recognizing that he must prepare them for his decision rather than simply disappearing. “This man still feels connected to his family, and he knows he has to prepare them for what he wants to do. That’s just the way he is,” the director explained.

Crucially, the character keeps his pain to himself, internalizing his suffering rather than expressing it outwardly. This creative choice guided Asgari’s approach to both the screenplay and his direction of Zareh’s performance. “Usually, when we think about sadness or depression, we think of very expressive acting or directing,” he said. “I took a simpler approach. I told [Misagh]: ‘I only want to see it in your eyes and on your face’.” This restrained style creates a more authentic portrayal of how many people navigate profound emotional distress.

Italian Neorealism Meets Iranian Reality

Asgari, who got to show the film in Venice’s main competition, thought extensively about Italian filmmakers while crafting his narrative. “I studied in Italy, basically. I’ve been inspired a lot by Italian neorealism and people like [screenwriter] Cesare Zavattini,” he revealed. The parallels between post-war Italy and contemporary Iran struck him as particularly relevant to his storytelling approach.

“It was important for me to show the everyday life of a country,” Asgari explained, “and I see many similarities between [Iran] and neorealism’s depiction of Italy after the war.” Both contexts feature populations grappling with trauma, scarcity, and political upheaval while trying to maintain their humanity and dignity. By adopting the neorealist emphasis on ordinary people and quotidian struggles, Asgari creates a window into Iranian life that transcends propaganda and stereotype.

The director’s rejection of false optimism and grand narratives in favor of modest, human-scaled stories represents a significant shift in his artistic philosophy. Rather than promising revolution or transformation, A Bit of Light offers something more modest yet perhaps more achievable: the suggestion that small acts of love and connection can sustain us through periods of darkness. For audiences inside and outside Iran, this message resonates with particular force in a world that increasingly feels dangerous and unpredictable.

Whether Asgari’s vision of incremental hope can provide meaningful comfort to Iranians living through ongoing repression remains an open question. What’s clear, however, is that his refusal to traffic in empty platitudes or manufactured optimism has produced a film that honestly reflects the psychological reality of life under authoritarianism – and the small, stubborn gestures of humanity that persist even in the darkest times.