Aga: Golshifteh Farahani stands up to a corrupt chief

by Fabien Lemercier

15/03/2013 - Very flattering rumours are spreading about Hiner Saleem’s new feature film, produced by Agat Films and currently in post-production

A constant buzz accompanies the post-production of the Franco-German coproduction Aga by Hiner Saleem, a sort of modern western describing the difficulties of creating a democracy after the fall of Saddam Hussein. The cast of this 9th feature film by the director of Vodka Lemon (Parallel section in Venice in 2003), Kilomètre Zéro [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (in competition in Cannes in 2005), Beneath the Rooftops of Paris [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Best Actor Prize for Michel Piccoli in Locarno in 2007) and Si tu meurs, je te tue [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (2011), features Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani (The Patience Stone [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), German actor Korkmaz Arslan and Suat Usta.

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Written by the director with Antoine Lacomblez, the screenplay sees Baran, a hero of the Kurdish war of independence, accepting to become chief of police in a small valley in Iraqi Kurdistan, on the border with Turkey and Iran. A lawless territory, at the heart of the Bermuda Triangle, a backcloth for trafficking in alcohol, drugs and medicine. He refuses to bow down to the rules of Aziz Aga, a corrupt tribal chief and ancestral master of the valley. The beautiful Govend arrives as a schoolteacher, despite the hostility of Aziz Aga, the inhabitants and Govend's twelve brothers. Together, Govend and Baran will challenge the power of Aziz Aga.

Produced by Marc Bordure and Robert Guédiguian for Agat Films, Aga is coproduced by the German company Roh Films (Benny Drechsel), Chaocorp, Arte France Cinéma and HS Production. Pre-purchased by Canal+, the film is also funded by Eurimages, the mini-treaty for Franco-German coproduction, L'Aide aux Cinémas du Monde (lit. “Aid to World Cinema”) of the Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) and the Sanad fund (Abu Dhabi Film Festival). The film's release on French screens will be handled by Memento Films Distribution and its international sales by Films Distribution.