Woman and Child


Woman and Child is a 2025 Iranian drama film written and directed by Saeed Roustayi, starring Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi, Hasan Pourshirazi, Fereshteh Sadre Orafaee and Sahar Goldoost.
The film had its world premiere at the main competition of the 78th Cannes Film Festival on 22 May 2025, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or. It was theatrically released in Iran on 23 July 2025.

Synopsis

The film follows a 35-year-old widowed nurse named Mahnaz who is raising her children alone and struggling with her rebellious son. As she prepares to marry her fiancé, Hamid, her son Aliyar is suspended from school. When a tragic accident turns everything upside down, Mahnaz sets out to seek justice and reparation.

Cast

  • Parinaz Izadyar as Mahnaz
  • Payman Maadi as Hamid
  • Soha Niasti as Mehri
  • Maziar Seyyedi as Samkhanian
  • Fereshteh Sadre Orafaee as Mother
  • Hasan Pourshirazi as Grandfather
  • Sinan Mohebi as Aliyar
  • Arshida Dorostkar as Neda
  • Sahar Goldoost as Aliyar's aunt
  • Arshida Dorostkar
  • Javad Pourheidari
  • Mansour Nasiri
  • Sinan Mohebi
  • Rozhin Shams

    Production

On 28 August 2024, it was announced that Saeed Roustayi's latest film, "Woman and Child," was in pre-production. On 1 September, Roustayi announced by posting a video on his Instagram page that he had written the script for his new film, "Woman and Child." On 24 November, the Iranian Organization of cinema issued a production license for the film. The movie will move to a different space from Saeed Roustayi's previous works, and is his fourth film after Leila's Brothers, which had its world premiere at the main competition of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
Filming began in December with Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi, Fereshteh Sadre Orafaee and Hasan Pourshirazi announced as the main actors. Roustayi announced on his Instagram page on 20 March 2025 that the production of the film had been completed. Bahram Dehghani was announced as the film editor, post-production work on the film was being carried out intensively aiming a Cannes premiere.

Release

On 10 April, the list of films in the official selection of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival was announced, and the film was not selected. On 23 April, alongside Die, My Love, the film was officially added to the festival's main competition for the Palme d'Or, marking Roustayi second film in the festival. It had its world premiere in Cannes on 22 May 2025.

Accolades