Cause of Death: Unknown, written and directed by Ali Zarnegar and produced by Majid Barzegar, represents Iran at the 2026 Academy Awards and will compete in the Main Competition of the 11th Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) in Los Angeles. The film, set in Iran’s haunting Lut Desert, follows seven passengers facing moral collapse after one of them mysteriously dies — a gripping, minimalist drama that has already won Best Cinematography at the Shanghai International Film Festival and earned selections at Hof, Torino, Girona, and Salento.
Cause of Death: Unknown, Iran’s Official Submission for the 2026 Academy Awards (Best International Feature Film), has been officially selected to compete in the Main Competition Section of the 11th Asian World Film Festival (AWFF), taking place in Culver City, Los Angeles, from November 11 to 20, 2025.
Written and directed by Ali Zarnegar and produced by Majid Barzegar, the film continues its strong international run following the Best Cinematography Award at the Shanghai International Film Festival, along with competitive selections at leading global festivals including the Hof International Film Festival (Germany), Torino Underground (Italy), Girona Film Festival (Spain), and Salento International Film Festival (Italy).
The Asian World Film Festival, founded in 2015 by veteran producer Georges N. Chamchoum, is one of Los Angeles’s most influential showcases for Asian cinema. Dedicated to bridging East and West, the festival gathers Oscar-submitted titles from across the continent and celebrates excellence through its prestigious Snow Leopard Awards. Past guests include Angelina Jolie, Oliver Stone, Chloé Zhao, and Lulu Wang, making AWFF a key destination for international recognition.
Set in Iran’s striking Lut Desert, Cause of Death: Unknown unfolds over the course of a single night, when seven passengers in a van are forced to confront a moral and existential crisis after one of them mysteriously dies. Through its restrained storytelling and unsettling realism, Zarnegar’s debut feature examines guilt, complicity, and the fragile ethics of survival.
Starring Banipal Shoomoon, Alireza Sanifar, Neda Jebraeili, Ali Mohammad Radmanesh, and Zakieh Behbahani, the film stands as part of a new generation of independent Iranian cinema—works created entirely outside the state system yet resonating powerfully with universal human themes.
Cause of Death: Unknown, written and directed by Ali Zarnegar and produced by Majid Barzegar, represents Iran at the 2026 Academy Awards and will compete in the Main Competition of the 11th Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) in Los Angeles. The film, set in Iran’s haunting Lut Desert, follows seven
The Iranian feature Cause of Death: Unknown, directed by Ali Zarnegar and produced by Majid Barzegar, has been officially selected as Iran’s submission for the 2026 Academy Awards. Represented internationally by Raft Films, the film has already won major prizes.
The Iranian drama Cause of Death: Unknown, directed by Ali Zarnegar, has officially been selected by Iran’s national committee as the country’s representative for the 2026 Academy Awards. The unanimous decision underscores the film’s artistic significance and its growing recognition on the global stage.
Every once in a while, a film rises beyond its plot and characters to hold up a mirror to an entire society. Cause of Death: Unknown, directed by Ali Zarnegar, is precisely such a work — not just a story, but an odyssey. Unfolding over the course of a night
