"IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT" (2025)

A car on an almost deserted road overlooking the city whose lights can be seen in the distance. At the wheel, a MAN, in the passenger seat, his pregnant WIFE, and in the back, their daughter NILOUFAR. A lively song by Sadegh Boughi plays on the car radio and Niloufar sings along at the top of her voice. A car appears in the distance and the man turns the music down.

Despite his misgivings, the man turns the music up.

Her mother, happy, and her father, reluctant, sing the chorus with Nilouf ar.

Niloufar dances, making hand movements. Her parents do likewise. The music becomes more intense. Each time a car passes, the man watches it attentively, afraid that someone might catch them like this. Niloufar seems very happy to see her parents join in. She is over the moon, shouting for joy, laughing. All of a sudden, at the height of this little sh ow, the car hits something. The man brakes sharply. Niloufar and her mother have trouble keeping their balance. The car stops. The music continues to play, contrasting with the ambient silence. The man turns the music off.

The man gets out of the car. He walks with a limp. The distinctive sound of his artificial leg is clearly audible in the silent night. He reaches the back of the car and looks down. He immediately glances away, as if he couldn’t bear the sight of what he sees. We briefly make out the whimpering of an animal. The man reluctantly bends down to the animal and pushes its body to the side of the road. In the distance, thunder rumbles. Rain begins to fall. The man straightens up and steps around the car, but he freezes just before opening the door. He leans against the car, takes a deep breath, and finally gets in. After a few fruitless attempts, the car starts up again and drives off. The man doesn’t say a word. Heavy silence settles in the car. No one speaks for a long moment. The wom an looks at her husband, then at Niloufar. The latter is frozen in shock. She holds her soft toy tightly to her chest and huddles up. The woman tries to break the silence.

Without saying a word, Niloufar stares at her soft toy and pushes her mother’s hand away when she tries to reach out to her. The woman looks at t he man. He is in the same state as his daughter. The woman turns the music back on.

The woman turns the music off. A moment’s silence.

The man and the woman look at each other. She signals to him to respond.

Outside, the rain grows heavier. The car starts to make a strange noise. The man, worried, checks the dashboard controls but doesn’t notice anything unusual. The car suddenly stops and the man cannot start it again.

The man pulls the lever to open the hood. The woman hands him a plastic bag.

The man puts the plastic bag on his head and gets out of the car. He examines the engine but cannot see anything wrong.

The woman turns the key in the ignition several times , but the car won’t start. The man looks around. Lights in buildings on the other side of the road flicker through the rain. The man comes over to his wife.

The woman locks the doors as the man crosses the road. He goes over to a shed, knocks on the door and waits. After a while, a voice rings out inside.

The door opens. A young man aged 22, Omid, wearing overalls, stands in the doorway.

The man turns to go, but Omid, thinking of the family in the car, stops him.

The man smiles and shelters beneath an awning as he waits for him. Omid goes back inside. The room is cramped, with a mezzanine floor at the far end - the workshop office accessed via some metal stairs. Omid climbs the stairs and enters the office. We discover Vahid, a man in his forties, also in overalls, caught up in a phone conversation. He seems a little agitated. Omid searches in a cupboard and gathers spanners and screwdrivers. Vahid watches him out of the corner of his eye.

Omid leaves the office with the tools. As he continues his phone conversation, Vahid goes over to the window.

Vahid hangs up. As he continues to look outside, he calls someone else on his phone. We hear his voice as he watches Omid and the man walk over to the car. The man sits behind the wheel and tries to start the car while Omid gets to work. The woman and the girl get out of the car and ask Omid something. He gestures t o the workshop. They hurry over to use the bathroom. Vahid, phone in hand, notices the woman is pregnant and watches her as she goes over to the bathroom.

Vahid hangs up and lights a cigarette. In the meantime, the woman comes out of the bathroom. Vahid looks at her through the gap in the door. The woman sits down, apparently overcome by stomach pains. Niloufar helps her. We hear the workshop door open. Vahid goes to the far end of the room but the sound of the man’s artificial leg on the concrete floor makes him freeze, as if this unusual noise seemed familiar. He pricks up his ears. Vahid tries to spot the man, but he can’t. He discreetly steps over to the door again.

He sees the man come into the workshop, then go over to his wife and daughter. Vahid looks devastated. He quickly steps back and presses against the cupboard so as not to be seen. He takes a deep breath and tries to pull himself together. All of a sudden, the man calls out to him.

Vahid doesn’t reply.

Vahid is cornered. He coughs and then answers, but without showing himself. He alters his voice to reply.

Vahid heaves a sigh of relief.

Vahid doesn’t move. He pricks up his ears again. We hear the man’s steps. Vahid peers at him through a crack in the door. The man goes over to the machine and takes the toolbox. He leaves the workshop. Vahid thinks for a second. He peers out of the win dow. The man gives the toolbox to Omid who takes a tool from it and goes back to work. The man finally manages to start the car. He shakes Omid’s hand and tries to give him a little money, but Omid refuses. Omid comes back over to the workshop to tell the woman and girl that they can go back to the car. They leave the workshop. In the meantime, Vahid quickly changes. He removes his overalls and put s on everyday clothes. Before Omid can close the workshop door, Vahid hurries down the stairs.

Omid hands the motorbike key to Vahid who quickly leaves the workshop.

Vahid, on his motorbike, follows the man’s Peugeot. He keeps a certain distance so as not to be spotted. The falling rain strikes his face and makes driving difficult. After passing along several streets and alleys, the car finally arrives at an isolated house. Vahid parks the motorbike and hides in a spot where no one will see him. He takes out his phone and makes a call.

Still in front of the house, but now at the wheel of a van, Vahid has fallen asleep. He is woken by the ringing of his phone. On waking, he feels a pain in his side. A look of panic comes into his eyes. He looks at the man’s house. He takes out his phone, turns on the speaker and puts the phone on the passenger seat. In the meantime, he looks for his pills in the glove compart ment.

At the wheel of the van, Vahid follows the taxi that stops on a narrow street. The man gets out. He walks along the deserted, one-way street. Vahid follows.

The man advances a few steps and is about to cross the street when Vahid accelerates all of a sudden and hits the man who falls to the ground. Vahid quickly gets out of the van and opens the back door.

Vahid digs a hole with a shovel. To one side, a dried-up tree; on the other, the van parked a few yards from the hole. All around, as far as the eye can see, arid land. Vahid goes over to the van, pulls the man out and throws him to the ground. He drags him over to the hole. The man, who is conscious now, tries to speak. We can see that he is in pain. All he can do is make unintelligible noises. Vahid pushes the man into the hole and starts to cover him with soil. The man thrashes about, but Vahid pays no attention. After taking a long breath, he steps down into the hole and removes the tape from the man’s mouth. The man twists in pain. Vahid then removes the sock from his mouth. The man makes the most of this to breathe and speak.

Vahid ignores the man’s words and continues to throw soil in his face.

Vahid looks calmly at the man. Then he takes the ID card out of his pocket and reads it.

The man freezes all of a sudden. He recognizes this name. There’s a moment’s silence. Eghbal quickly collects his wits.

Vahid picks up the shovel and keeps filling the hole. Eghbal starts to struggle again.

Vahid pauses. Eghbal’s final words seem to have marked him. Vahid paces up and down, stops and looks at Eghbal again. He starts pacing again, agitated, then suddenly hops down into the hole and tries to pull off the artificial leg. Eghbal screams.

Vahid tries to pull up his pant leg. He cannot manage it. In frustration, he takes out a box cutter and tears Eghbal’s pants. The artificial limb comes loose and a little blood trickles from the wound.

Vahid looks at him for a moment, then climbs out of the hole. He goes over to the van and leans against it. He thinks for a second, takes out a cigarette, lights it and drags on it. He looks at the hole. He takes another drag on the cigarette, as if he had just thought of something. H e stands, opens the van door, takes his phone from the dash and makes a call.

A long road across the desert. The van arrives in the city.

Vahid looks for a parking space on a busy street. He parks, quickly gets out of the van, turns the alarm on and goes over to a bookstore on the other side of the street.

Vahid comes into the bookstore, looks around and ends up spotting SALAR who sits with his back to him. He goes over to him.

Salar turns and, on seeing Vahid, beams in delight. He stands to embrace him.

Vah id sits down at his friend’s invitation.

Vahid shows Eghbal’s identity card to Salar.

Salar freezes all of a sudden. He pauses, then asks in a low voice.

Vahid nods.

Salar stares at him in disbelief, then looks around.

Vahid follows Salar. They go down the stairs to the storeroom.

Vahid looks at Salar for a moment. He seems to have understood that his efforts will get him nowhere. He takes Salar’s hand and hugs him tightly.

Vahid kisses Salar on the shoulder and leaves. As he goes out, he hears Salar’s voice and, without turning, he gives a brief wave.

Vahid comes out of the bookstore, crosses the street and walks over to the van. Salar catches up with him before he opens the van door. He has a piece of paper in his hand. He gives it to Vahid.

Salar walks off without saying goodbye. Vahid looks at the piece of paper. A phone number and the name of a woman, Shiva, are wr itten on it. Vahid quickly takes out his phone and calls the number, but there’s no answer. Thinking he has made a mistake, he punches out the number again. Still no answer.

Vahid drives the van through the city, clearly frustrated. Each time he calls the number, there’s no answer.

He throws his phone onto the passenger seat in annoyance. He drives for a moment, lost in his thoughts. That’s when his phone rings. He brakes sharply and we hear the other cars screech to a halt behind him. Vahid frantically looks for his phone, manages to find it and answers as he gets out of the van.

Shiva photographs the bride and groom. They s trike a pose in a flowery setting for the occasion. Her phone starts ringing.

Shiva walks away from the couple and heads towards a garden in the villa. Vahid is there and wants to talk to her.

Shiva goes back over to the bride and groom.

Shiva freezes, then turns to Vahid.

Vahid nods. Shiva is rooted to the spot with a look of fear on her face.

Shiva wants to go, but Vahid stops her.

Shiva is resolute. She waits for Vahid to leave. Shiva starts to get angry and steps toward Vahid, speaking to him in a louder voice.

Without waiting for Vahid to react, Shiva goe s back over to the bride and groom. Vahid calls after her a couple of times, but Shiva ignores him. He follows her. Shiva reaches the swimming pool, gets ready and begins to take photos. Her movements are rapid and edgy. Her behavior intrigues the others, but no one says anything. She takes a couple of photos, pauses, then looks at Vahid. She tries to ignore him, takes another photo, then looks at him again. She pulls out her phone and makes a call. As the camera holds on Vahid, we do not hear her voice and we do not know to whom she is speaking. During her phone conversation, she walks over to Vahid. We hear the last few words.

Shiva hangs up and puts her phone in her pocket.

She joins Vahid and they leave the garden.

They reach the van. Vahid grabs Shiva’s hand, she turns to him.

Vahid calmly opens the van door and climbs in. Shiva follows him. He opens the chest and lifts the blanket. Shiva, her eyes staring, watches Vahid. Eghbal is lying under the b lanket. He has a rag stuffed in his mouth and a blindfold covering his eyes. Shiva is petrified. Eghbal squirms and tries to cry out, but all we hear is a muffled sound. Shiva observes his desperate movements. Vahid shows Eghbal’s plastic leg to Shiva. She looks at Eghbal, then at Vahid before quickly climbing back out of the van. Vahid puts the blanket back over Eghbal, closes the chest and climb s out of the van in turn.

The bride and groom come out of the garden and walk over to Shiva. On spotting them, she becomes edgy.

Shiva goes over to Golrokh and the groom who are at the garden gate. Golrokh tries to find out who this stranger is. She thinks that Vahid is a government agent who is there to threaten them. Shiva wants to take the couple back into the garden, but Golrokh resists. The groom, perplexed, steps away from the two women and comes over to Vahid. He greets him and shakes his hand.

The groom searches in his pockets for some money, but Shiva calls him back over. Shiva starts to speak. The camera holds on Vahid and the others’ voices are incomprehensible. Shiva gestures frequently toward Vahid and it is clear that she is explaining everything to the couple. Golrokh slumps to the ground. The groom takes her in his arms, asking for water. A few seconds later, a young man brings a glass of water. The groom tells Golrokh to drink. He splashes her face too. Shiva tells the young man to go back into the garden. Golrokh, who seems to have recovered a little, then rushes over to the van. Vahid is a little confused. Without paying any attention to him, Golrokh tries to open the door. Vahid stops her. Shiva and the groom come over to them. Before they climb into the van, Shiva makes a gesture to tell them to keep quiet. The two women and the groom get into the van and close the door. The camera holds on Vahid, outside. Worried, he glances around and lights a cigarette. After a few seconds, Golrokh, Shiva and the groom get back out. Golrokh seems exhausted. Vahid quickly closes the door of the van.

Vahid looks at Shiva and doesn’t reply. All of a sudden, the groom grabs Vahid by his collar.

Shiva parts the two men.

Ali stares furiously at Vahid. Shiva rais es her voice.

The groom, seeing that Shiva is serious, takes Golrokh by the arm and starts to walk away. But Golrokh refuses to go back to the garden.

She throws her tiny bouquet to the ground.

Golrokh’s gestures and words plunge everyone into complete silence. They look at each other. Shiva steps over to Vahid.

Vahid opens the door of the van and Shiva climbs in with him. Vahid opens the chest again. Eghbal starts to thrash about. His left leg (the artificial one) is visible because of his torn pants. Shiva bends down to lift the other pant leg in order to see something. But she cannot manage it. She is nervous and her hands shake. Vahid, seeing how edgy she is, takes a box cutter out of his pocket and q uickly cuts open the right pant leg. Eghbal’s other leg is now exposed, revealing a long scar on it. It seems to be quite old as the flesh has puckered along the scar. On seeing this wound, Shiva is petrified. She quickly climbs out of the van. Vahid closes the chest and gets out in turn. Golrokh and Ali come over to them.

Ali leads Shiva off to one side.

Shiva says nothing for a second or two.

Golrokh, determined, wants to get into the van. Ali, annoyed, steps over to her.

Golrokh takes out her phone and makes a call.

Golrokh hangs up and looks at Ali.

Before they get into the van, Vahid addresses them all.

The other three look at each other, then take out th eir phones, turn them off and give them to Vahid. He opens the door and gets into the van. The others climb in after him. He puts the phones on the dashboard and takes the wheel. The van drives off.

Golrokh and Ali are sitting in the back of the van.

Ali approaches Shiva and Vahid, who are sitting at the front of the van. He starts talking to them, but Shiva reminds him that he mustn't be heard.Shiva and Vahid got out of the van silently and headed towards the pharmacy.

Shiva is talking to the doctor behind the counter. The y seem to be good friends and the doctor looks happy to see her. Vahid sits on a bench next to some customers, waiting. Shiva occasionally gestures toward Vahid and speaks to him, but we do not hear what they say. Shiva has convinced the doctor who goes into the small room behind the counter. Shiva smiles at Vahid. The doctor comes back after a few seconds with a box. He explains to Shiva what he i s giving to her, but we still cannot hear anything.

Shiva and Vahid come out of the pharmacy. Shiva carries a bag. She gives what she has bought to Vahid.

Shiva stops in the middle of the street and looks insistently at Vahid. He looks away and then notices that a small crowd has gathered around the van. He runs over. Cars screech to a halt. He reaches the van and sees that a street musician and a few other people are singing a festive song just in front of the van. He opens the door and finds Ali searching in the glove compartment. Ali notices Vahi d.

Vahid searches his pockets and finds a bill that he gives to him. Ali hands it to the musician. Shiva and Vahid get into the van and they set off again.

The city is full of life. As they drive, Shiva tells Vahid which streets to take.

Vahid stops the van. Shiva points to Hamid who is talking to a group of people on the other side of the street.

Shiva gets out of the van and walks towards the man on the other side of the road.From inside the van, all three watch the scene unfold. Shiva makes her way through the traffic. She speaks to the man before he loses his temper with her. They argue, but we cannot hear what the y are saying. He pushes her and she falls to the ground. She quickly gets up and forces him to follow her, grabbing his hand to cross the road again, towards the van.

In the face of Shiva’s commanding tone, Hamid falls silent. He takes a deep breath and turns to Vahid.

Vahid starts the van up.

The van enters a multi-story carpark and stops on the quiet top level. Ali and Shiva are keeping a close eye on Hamid who seems ready to run. Vahid opens the chest. Eghbal is unconscious. Hamid looks attentively at Eghbal. Everyone awaits his reaction. He first examines Eghbal’s left leg and artificial limb, then he closes his eyes and touches his right leg. Hamid opens his eyes, then moves his hand up the torn pant leg to look at the older scars on the right leg. The oth ers hold their breath. Hamid freezes, then suddenly removes the blindfold from Eghbal’s eyes and, cursing, attacks the unconscious man. The others try to hold him back, but Hamid strikes Eghbal several times. Vahid quickly closes the chest. The other three try to control Hamid who goes wild. Ali finally manages to neutralize him at the back of the van. Hamid is breathing heavily. He seems to have reached a decision.

Hamid moves toward Eghbal, but Vahid grabs his arm.

Hamid pounces on the chest and, before the others can stop him, he starts yelling. The others look around, concerned by the racket that Hamid is making. They grab hold of him and push him out of the van. Hamid tries to get closer to the chest by every means possible, but Ali, Vahid and Shiva push him out of the van again. Ali and Vahid get out too. Hamid struggles with them. Shiva and Golrokh stay in the van and lock the door. Vahid and Ali grab Hamid and drag him into a corner of the carpark. They squat down between the cars. All of a sudden, TWO CARPARK SECURITY GUARDS, middle-aged men with walkie- talkies in hand, come over and look at them, both surprised and calm. Silence falls. Vahid and Ali let go of Hamid and stand. Hamid, panting, stares at the security guards. The silence lingers for a few more seconds.

SECURITY GUARD #1 Were you searching him?

Vahid is the first to collect his wits. He brushes the dust from his clothes.

Ali holds his hand out to Hamid.

Hamid reluctantly takes Ali’s hand and stands, brushing down his clothes. Shiva gets out of the van with her camera, accompanied by Golrokh, an d comes over to them.

SECURITY GUARD #1 (pointing to Golrokh’s wedding dress) Is this another joke?

SECURITY GUARD #2 So that’s your job, searching people?

SECURITY GUARD #1 What view?

Shiva leads the two security guards over to the edge of the roof and shows them the city below.

They don’t seem to find the view particularly beautiful.

SECURITY GUARD #2 You can’t see the city… All you can see is dust!

SECURITY GUARD #1 Such as?

SECURITY GUARD #1 So you lie to people?

Shiva steps over to Golrokh and Ali.

Shiva gets Golrokh and Ali to pose as she takes photos. Vahid and Hamid look on. The security guards also look at Golrokh with undisguised pleasure. Golrokh feels uneasy beneath their gaze.

Golrokh, Ali, Shiva, Vahid and Hamid get into the van in silence. The security guards continue to look at them calmly. One of them steps over to Shiva, sitting in the front passenger seat, and signals to her to lower her window.

SECURITY GUARD #1 Before, newlyweds were more respectful!

SECURITY GUARD #2 (to his colleague) For my wedding, I gave away enough money to buy a house, I swear.

Hamid leans toward the window from the back seat. He hasn’t heard the conversation.

SECURITY GUARD #1 Your friend seems very edgy! That’s not good on a wedding day!

Hamid and Ali don’t have any cash either.

SECURITY GUARD #1 Do you have a bank card?

The security guard suddenly takes an EPT out of his pocket.

SECURITY GUARD #1 If I may…

He enters a sum and holds the terminal out to Shiva.

SECURITY GUARD #1 There you go…

Shiva looks at the terminal’s display.

SECURITY GUARD #1 Your joke was too much as well… It really looked like you were searching him.

SECURITY GUARD #2 It’s the same every time… When it’s for us, it’s always too much!

Shiva enters her PIN.

They park. Vahid quickly gets out and opens the van’s door.

They all look at each other in surprise.

Ali stands and gets out.

Golrokh looks away without answering.

Ali holds his hand out to Golrokh.

Golrokh si ts down on the chest where Eghbal is hidden. Silence falls. Everyone waits for Vahid’s reaction. Ali sits down next to Golrokh and takes her in his arms. Vahid, who is still outside the van, lights a cigarette and leans against the door. He thinks, as if he were at a dead end. Shiva gets out of the van and comes over to Vahid.

Vahid holds his pack out to her. Shiva ta kes one, slips it between her lips and Vahid lights it for her. Shiva pats Vahid’s hand gently to thank him and signals to him to close the door. Vahid understands and closes it. After a couple of drags on the cigarette, Shiva looks at him again.

The van heads along the streets. Golrokh and Ali are still sitting on the chest, Shiva in the front passenger seat. Vahid drives. Hamid is huddled up in the back of the van. He moves toward Shiva and stands between the driver and passenger seats. He talks to Shiva, this time without shouting.

Shiva and Vahid exchange a meaningful look. Shiva makes a move to stand and change seats, but Hamid stops her.

Silence falls and lingers for a moment.

All of a sudden, the van stops. Vahid tries t o start it again several times, in vain. They all look at each other.

Vahid, Hamid, Golrokh and Ali push the van along the streets, beneath the mocking gaze of passersby.

The van is on the gas station forecourt and Vahid is filling the tank. A PUMP ATTENDANT takes the nozzle from him.

All of a sudden, the door of the van opens and Golrokh leans out to throw up. Vahid rushes to her.

Vahid peers into the van. The others are all holding their noses as yellow liquid trickles over the floor of the van from the chest where Eghbal is hidden. Vahid turns to the pump attendant who has finished.

Vahid hesitates for a second and then, to bring the discussion to an end…

The pump attendant holds an EPT out to him as Vahid turns to the others who are still holding their noses and making the best of a bad situation.

The van has stopped on a waste lot. The chest is empty. Ali is cleaning the inside of the van while Hamid, Shiva and Golrokh wait a short distance away. Hamid drags on his cigarette and steps over to Shiva.

Shiva and Golrokh look at Hamid as if they were having doubts. Ali finishes cleaning the van.

Vahid comes back, carrying the unconscious Eghbal on his back and carefully lays him in the chest. He takes the dirty rags, steps out of the van and walks off to throw them away. All of a sudden, Vahid falls to the ground. The other four rush over to him. Vahid presses his hand to the small of his back, he is in pain.

Hamid stands and runs back to the van. The others help Vahid to his feet. Ali and Shiva take Vahid’s arms and support him. All of a sudden, we hear the van start up. Everyone turns. Ali and Shiva run toward the van that begins to pull away, and Ali manages to jump in at the last second. Shiva remains standing there, watching the van that circles the dusty plot of waste land while Ali fights with Hamid behind the wheel. In the end, the van collides with a mound of earth and stops. Vahid falls to the ground, twisting in pain.

We are in the same desert as in scene 6. Everyone is sitting some distance away from the hole. Vahid is on the van’s step smoking a cigarette. Hamid stands and steps over to the grave, looking into the empty hole.

He turns to Vahid and addresses him directly.

He looks at Shiva as he gestures to Vahid.

He turns to Ali again.

Ali cries out all of a sudden.

Silence falls. Ali gently takes Golrokh by the arm and leads her off to one side. We do not hear their conversation, but it looks as if Ali is trying to comfort her. Shiva walks over to the dried-up tree, sits and leans against it. Hamid goes over to the van and looks at Vahid who has remained silent all this time, sitting on the step, smoking a cigarette and observing the scene. Vahid’s serious expr ession discourages Hamid from coming any closer. He gazes at him for a second, looks away and stares at Shiva. He walks over to her and lights a cigarette.

All of a sudden, Hamid stands and raises his voice to speak to everyone.

Shiva stands and walks over to Hamid with fire in her eyes.

Shiva grabs Hamid’s hand and leads him over to the van. Vahid stands. He stares at Shiva. Go lrokh and Ali come over too. They stay at the door and watch what happens inside the van. Shiva is still holding Hamid’s hand. She climbs into the van, goes to the back of it, searches for a few seconds and finds a crowbar. She uses it to break open the chest. Eghbal lies inside, still unconscious. Shiva hands the crowbar to Hamid.

Hamid, hesitant, takes the c rowbar and stares at Shiva.

She lays her hand on the crowbar. They are both touching it now. Total silence reigns. The other three look at Hamid and Shiva in disbelief. The atmosphere is heavy with astonishment and wariness. All of a sudden, a phone rings. The ringing sounds even louder in this silence. Va hid is the first to react. He goes to the front of the van and opens the glove compartment, but the ringing doesn’t seem to be coming from one of the phone stored there.

Vahid goes to the chest. He searches Eghbal’s pockets. But he doesn’t find anything. The phone keeps ringing. He finally finds it under a blanket. It’s an old Nokia. Vahid stares incredulously at the p hone.

Vahid looks at the others and is about to answer the phone.

They wait and, after a few seconds, the ringing ends. But then the phone starts ringing again.

Vahid alters his voice as he answers the phone.

Vahid listens. We make out the confused voice of a little girl who seems to be crying and pleading. Vahid listens for a moment, then hangs up.

Vahid gets in behind the wheel. The others look at him.

The van arrives at Eghbal’s house. Everyone looks attentively at the place and its surroundings, but they don’t spot anything suspicious. They drive slowly past the house. The van turns onto a street a little further along and stops. Total silence reigns.

The phone rings again.

Vahid answe rs the phone and turns the speaker on. The little girl’s voice, crying and pleading, echoes around the van.

Vahid can’t stand the sound of this voice any longer and hangs up. He does a U-turn in the van and dri ves up to the house. He parks in the same spot as at the start of the film and hurriedly gets out.

Vahid turns to the others.

Vahid and Shiva hurry over to the house. They reach the door. After hesitating for a second, they ring the bell. Shortly after, Niloufar’s tearful and choked voice is heard over the intercom.

The woman is lying in the van on the chest where Eghbal is hidden. Hamid, Ali and Golrokh, worried, stare at her. Vahid drives. Shiva is in the passenger seat. She turns and looks at the back of the van. Golrokh has Niloufar in her arms and comforts her. Shiva looks at Vahid and speaks to him in a whisper.

Shiva gets out of the passenger seat and goes to sit next to Niloufar. Vahid watches them in the rearview mirror. Just then, the van runs over a pot-hole.

Vahid looks away from the rearview mirror to focus on the road. The street is calm in the Tehran night.

Niloufar and Vahid are at the hospital reception desk, with the little girl’s pregnant mother on a stretcher next to them. A HOSPITAL RECEPTIONIST fills out a file on the other side of the counter.

The woman on the stretcher seems to be suffering. Vahid keeps an eye on her.

As Vahid begins to raise his voice, a DOCTOR, a file in his hand, comes over to him.

The doctor rapidly examines the pregnant woman and then turns to the receptionist.

Vahid is still in shock. He signs the document. He takes the bill. Vahid tells Niloufar to stay there and walks over to the cashier’s counter in the hallway. He stands there. He looks at the bill, then takes out his bank card. He hesitates for a second.

Vahid and Niloufar are sitting outside the surgical unit. Niloufar eats a sandwich and drinks soda.

A little time passes…

A NURSE comes over to them.

Vahid goes out.

Vahid reaches the van. He opens the door a nd hands the pastries to the others.

SHIVA, ALI & GOLROKH Not me…

They all answer yes, except for Hamid.

They all look a t each other.

They all look at each other. It’s obvious that no one trusts Hamid to stay alone with Eghbal.

Hamid gets out of the van. He turns to look at the others.

Hamid walks away from the van without another word, beneath the annoyed gaze of the other four.

Vahid, Shiva, Golrokh and Ali have gathered around the ATM. Apart from Shiva, they all have money in their hands. Shiva takes some bills from the ATM and gives them to Vahid. He counts the money .

They take a pastry each, a little reluctantly.

Vahid starts to walk away, then turns and calls out to Shiva.

Shiva goes over to Vahid.

Vahid goes into the hospital with the box of pastries and the money in his hand while the others watch him go.

Vahid enters the maternity unit. He looks around and spots Niloufar asleep on a chair.

Vahid arrives back at the van and sees Shiva leaning against it.

Vahid opens the van door. Shiva climbs in first, then Vahid follows, taking his place behind the wheel.

Vahid drives the van through Tehran. Shiva sits at his side, staring at the road ahead. From time to time, she looks at Vahid. He o ccasionally glances at her too. All of a sudden, Eghbal’s groans are heard from the chest. Shiva turns to the back of the van. Vahid looks in the rearview mirror. A cell phone starts ringing. They look at each other. Shiva realizes that it’s her phone. She looks at the screen, then turns to Vahid.

Vahid goes to the back of the van and opens the chest. He lifts Eghbal out. As he pulls the other man out of the van, he is overcome by pain again. He fights it. He gets out of the van and Eghbal pounces on him. They both fall to the ground, Eghbal on top of Vahid. Vahid tries to break free, but Eghbal holds him down on the ground and hits him. Vahid seems unable to breathe. Eghbal hits him again. All of a sudden, something flashes out of the darkness and strikes Eghbal’s head. He freezes and coll apses. Vahid collects his wits. He turns and sees Shiva, furious, still holding the shovel that she just used to hit Eghbal.

Shiva seems to come to her senses all of a sudden. She first looks around, then stares at the shovel in her hand. She seems shocked by what she has done. She tosses the shovel aside and helps Vahid who has trouble stand ing. With some difficulty, they drag Eghbal over to the side of the road.

Shiva leans down over Eghbal. Blood trickles from the spot where she hit him.

Shiva nods and comes back over to Vahid. They sit down for a second to recover.

Vahid looks at her for a moment. He stands and goes back over to Eghbal. He tries to drag him over to the road. Shiva tries to help. Vahid signals to Shiva not to touch Eghbal. He moves the other man to a more suitable spot. Vahid comes back over to the van, takes a bottle of water and pours a little on Eghbal’s face. He removes Eghbal’s earplugs and gives him a little water to drink. Eghbal drinks and catches his breath. After a few groans, he begins to sp eak.

Shiva steps forward to attack Eghbal, but Vahid stops her and signals to her to keep quiet. Shiva is forced to speak in a whisper.

Vahid gestures to her to be quiet, then turns to Eghbal.

Really? When you made the wives and children of prisoners weep and beg at the prison to force them into making false confessions, did you know what a wife and children meant th en? It’s up to you. (MORE)(MORE)

(CONT’D)C N D If you don’t want to send a last message to your family, to your daughter and your son, fine, don’t do it.

Silence falls. Vahid looks at Shiva. Until Eghbal starts speaking.

Shiva, who has been calm until now, suddenly throws herself at Eghbal.

Shiva hits Eghbal several times. She grabs him and drags him over the ground with his arms tied behind his back.

Vahid freezes for a second and stares at Shiva in surprise. At a signal from Shiva, he helps her to drag Eghbal along.

Eghbal tries to speak several times, but he falls silent under Shiva’s onslaught. She and Vahid pretend to dig the hole. They throw several spadefuls of earth over Eghbal. He keeps asking what they are doing. But there’s no reply, only the sound of digging. Eghbal is terrified. He wants to speak, but Shiva comes over to him and grips his chin fir mly.

When Eghbal tries to speak, Shiva strikes his mouth with the back of her hand.

The sound of digging continues.

Shiva strikes Eghbal in the face with the shovel and he starts sobbing in pain.

As Shiva pretends to be about to throw him into the hole, he speaks out loud and hi s sobbing becomes more intense.

Shiva throws the shovel to the ground next to him. She walks over to the van. She takes out a cigarette, lights it and drags on it. She seems unable to smoke. She tosses the cigarette aside, gets into the van and slams the door shut. Silence falls. Vahid moves a little, seems to be about to say something, but realizes that it’s no use. He takes the box cutter and Eghbal’s papers out of his pocket. He looks at them for a long moment. He leaves them near Eghbal.

He takes the shovel, walks over to the van and climbs in. The van vanishes into the night.

A number of children and adults carry baby things to the van. Vahid is outside h is mother’s house, loading the things into the van. Omid helps him. They carry the cradle together and put it in the van. It’s the final item.

Vahid goes over to the house. The camera follows from behind. As he starts to climb the stairs, a squeal of brakes is heard, followed by shouts and Omid’s protests. Vahid freezes without turning around, without even looking back. After a few seconds, the sound of Eghbal’s limping, artificial step, which we heard at the start of the film, comes closer and closer until reachi ng a peak of intensity.