Screening & Discussion

Celluloid Underground

Friday, April 17, 2026 | 6:30pm

Little Theatre 1 (240 East Ave.)
Doors open at 6:00pm

Standard ticket prices
Tickets available online in advance, at our box office during open hours, or at the door (if tickets remain).

Ehsan Khoshbakht’s riveting autobiographical documentary is an immersive portrait of post-revolutionary Iran and a stirring testament to the power of cinema to resist tyranny. It’s the story of his formative friendship with the mysterious Ahmad, a maverick film collector who, in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, becomes an unlikely hero as he undertakes the courageous mission of hiding thousands of banned 35mm film prints in downtown Tehran basements.

Obsessed with the movies he wasn’t allowed to see growing up, Ehsan becomes Ahmad’s closest collaborator in the underground cinematheque, risking arrest and torture in the fight against cultural repression, before escaping to a new life in London. From the pain of exile, he questions whether their shared obsession was worth the price they paid for it.

• Reception in the lobby from 6:00-6:30pm.
• Film will be followed by a panel discussion.
• Free admission for UR Students with Student ID, at the door.

Co-presented with the University of Rochester’s Cinema & Politics Series, sponsored by Democracy Center, Department of Political Science, Humanities Center, and OnFilm.