Film archive, 2026

On the Road with Abbas Kiarostami

Director Seifollah SAMADIAN

1Festival entries

★Avg. rating

‘Remembering the sweet days with him and the bitter 10 years without him.’ A tribute film made by cinematographer Seifollah Samadian, who had been Abbas Kiarostami’s cinematographer, to mark the tenth anniversary of his death - that would be the dry way to introduce On the Road with Abbas Kiarostami. But this film’s ambition and achievement easily surpass our expectations. For 25 years, Samadian traveled with Kiarostami and recorded their journeys. He now turns that footage into a film in the spirit of Kiarostami’s own films, arranging within it the secret keys to the beauty and mystery of his films. Ten stories, ten journeys unfold, using the ‘car’ and the ‘road’ as motifs. What does it mean to be on the road with Kiarostami? On these journeys, they are accompanied by Jafar Panahi. But the film’s most unexpected charm lies in the moments that capture Kiarostami’s small, silly pranks and jokes. These are joyful memories that bring the film to life. This heartwarming tribute to Kiarostami is beautiful, warm, and, above all, delightful.

Stills4

Film details

Director: Seifollah SAMADIAN
Country/Region: Iran
Year: 2026
Length: 88min
Original language: Persian
Elsewhere: Letterboxd IMDb TMDB Douban

Director

Seifollah SAMADIAN

An Iranian documentary director, photographer, curator, and educator. He began working in photography in 1968 and in documentary filmmaking in 1978. He has directed more than 40 documentaries, which have been presented at major international film festivals including Amsterdam, Venice, Tribeca, and Tokyo. As a cinematographer, he worked with Abbas Kiarostami on ABC Africa (2001), Five (2003), and Roads (2005), and his own directorial works about Kiarostami, 76 Minutes & 15 Seconds with Abbas Kiarostami (2016) and Kiarostami at Work (2023), were presented at festivals including the Busan International Film Festival.

From Busan International Film Festival 2026, No. 31

Credits

Director: Seifollah SAMADIAN
Executive producer: Sahand SAMADIAN
Cast: Jafar PANAHI, Tahereh LADANIAN, Abdollah AHMADPOUR, Hosna ASHOURPOUR, Hossein KHADEM, Adel YARAQI, Fatemeh GHORBANI, Morteza FARSHBAF, Hamideh SHARIFRAD, Teruyo NOGAMI, Kimiko ONISHI, Shohreh GOLPARIAN
Music: Masoud SEKHAVAT DOOST
Editing: Seifollah SAMADIAN
Assistant Editor: Naghmeh MAGHSOUDLOU
Sound: Ensieh Leyla MALEKI
Color Correction: Saed NIKZAT
Color Correction & DCP Studio: ROSHANA (Kamran Saharkhiz)
English subtitle: Soheil SAMADIAN
Poster &Title Typography: Ebrahim HAGHIGHI
Cultural Sponsors: Kiarostami Foundation, White Dreams Films
Production company: TASSVIR FILM CENTER

Festival appearances1

Choose a festival entry to see its screenings, articles and audience reviews.

On the Road with Abbas KiarostamiBusan International Film Festival 2026, No. 31Wide Angle: Documentary Competition

Festival history1

釜山国际电影节, 2026Wide Angle: Documentary Competition, Competitive section

Film posters

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