Persian Lessons

“Hugely compelling, highly original” – Daily Mail

A hit on the international film circuit, including the Berlin Film Festival, Persian Lessons is a unique and spellbinding drama by Ukrainian Jewish director Vadim Perelman (The House of Sand and Fog). Gilles, a young Jewish Belgian man, is arrested in 1942 by the SS and sent to a concentration camp in Germany. He narrowly avoids execution by swearing to the guards that he is not Jewish, but Persian. This lie leads Gilles to a seemingly untenable mission: to teach Persian to an officer in charge of the camp’s kitchen, who dreams of opening a restaurant in Iran once the war is over. Gilles finds himself having to invent a language he doesn’t know, as he creates a vocabulary and an intricate set of linguistic rules.

In-theatre screening includes Q&A.

In-person Screening on April 10 at 2pm:

• General Admission: $15
• Cineplex Cinemas Empress Walk, 5095 Yonge St. (North York Centre subway station)
• Director Vadim Perelman will be in attendance for a live Q&A for the April 10th in-person screening.
• Theatre Safety Measures * Theatre will only be sold to 50% capacity
  * All TJFF patrons must provide proof of vaccination to enter the screening cinema
  * Masks to be worn in the screening cinema unless you are seated and actively eating or drinking.

Online Screening Household Ticket: $15

FILM DETAILS
COUNTRY: GERMANY
YEAR: 2020
RUNNING TIME: 127 MIN
LANGUAGES: GERMAN, FRENCH, ENGLISH
SUBTITLES: ENGLISH
DIRECTOR: VADIM PERELMAN