Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s (The Circle, Taxi) stunning new humanist drama, 3 FACES, winner of the award for Best Screenplay at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and featured at the Toronto and New York film festivals, will open in New York on Friday, March 8 at the IFC Center followed by a national rollout.

Jafar Panahi both directs and features in this poignant yet playful exploration of oppression—his fourth movie since being banned from filmmaking in Iran. The film stars Panahi and well-known Iranian actress Behnaz Jafari (both playing themselves) as they embark on an eventful road trip to the rural northwest of Iran to help a girl whose family has forbidden her from attending a drama conservatory in Tehran. They have amusing encounters with the generous people of the teenager’s mountain village, but soon discover that the local hospitality is challenged by a desire to protect age-old traditions.