Raft Film is proud to announce that Heritage, the feature-length debut of Iranian filmmaker Mir Mohammad Najafi, has been officially selected to screen in the International Spectrum Competition at the 32nd edition of the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.
The festival will run from April 24 to May 4, 2025, in Toronto, and Heritage will have its world premiere as part of a prestigious lineup of global documentaries.
Hot Docs is North America’s leading documentary festival and a launchpad for some of the most acclaimed non-fiction films in the world. This year’s program includes 35 world premieres, 14 international premieres, and 26 North American premieres, drawn from over 2,662 submissions. In total, 113 films from 47 countries were selected for this year’s edition.
Heritage is among the select few world premieres chosen for the International Spectrum Competition, a category dedicated to powerful, boundary-pushing stories from around the globe. Other selected titles hail from Canada, Colombia, India, Poland, and Chile, reflecting the festival’s commitment to global perspectives.
Heritage is a quiet yet emotionally resonant portrait of caregiving and sacrifice. The 73-minute documentary follows Fariba, a devoted woman in her sixties who spends her days tending to her aging parents. Her mother battles Alzheimer’s disease, while her father’s fragile health demands constant support. Though Fariba has a life and home of her own, she dedicates herself fully to their care, alternating shifts with her brother each day.
Through observational cinematography and sensitive storytelling, Heritage asks: Is Fariba’s devotion a reflection of unconditional love—or a slow erosion of her own identity? Najafi’s lens captures the silent heroism of women like Fariba, whose emotional labor often goes unnoticed.
Heritage marks the first feature film by Mir Mohammad Najafi, who previously directed short documentaries exploring intimate themes of aging, domesticity, and familial tension. With this debut, he brings a fresh and thoughtful voice to the international non-fiction scene.
As the film’s international distributor, Raft Film continues its mission to represent powerful, auteur-driven stories from the Middle East. With Heritage, Raft Film strengthens its slate with a debut film that offers both cultural specificity and emotional universality.
Key Credits
Director & Cinematographer: Mir Mohammad Najafi
Producer: Mohsen Ostadali
Editor: Babak Haidari
Sound Design & Mix: Seyyed Alireza Alaviyan
Music: Pejman Khalili
Color & Lighting: Hamidreza Fatoorehchiyan, Farhad Talebinezhad
Heritage tells the moving story of Fariba, a woman in her sixties who has put her own life on hold to care for her elderly parents—one battling Alzheimer’s, the other frail and dependent. Through quiet, observational storytelling, the film explores how love and responsibility can blur the boundaries of identity.
