Underplayed Gems

Without Permission (2025)

Without Permission poster
Directed by
Hassan Nazer
Country
Iran, Scotland
Rated
12
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More films like this

How it feels

An exiled Iranian filmmaker is denied permission to make a scripted project. He turns to children and films them secretly to capture their honest thoughts about love, identity, and freedom.

poeticintrospectivetendersubtlereflectivehopefulgentle

What happens

Without Permission is a 2025 Iranian–Scottish drama film directed, written and produced by Hassan Nazer. The film starring Behrouz Sebt Rasoul follows the story of an exiled Iranian filmmaker who, after being denied permission to make his scripted project, turns to children to capture their candid voices and perspectives on love, identity, and freedom. By filming secretly in hidden locations, the narrative evolves into a reflection on self-expression within a world of limitations. The Iranian–British co-production Without Permission, was selected for the main Competition section of the 30th Busan International Film Festival and had its world premiere on 17 September 2025. The narrative follows a filmmaker's return to his homeland and his collaboration with children in search of a new expressive language—a poetic and introspective journey emphasizing the power of imagination and the self-expression of younger generations. The film's international distribution is handled by the French company DreamLab Films. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.