Now Playing

Chess of the Wind (4K Restoration)

Tue, Feb 8 / 7pm
Wed, Feb 9 / 9:15pm
Sat, Feb 12 / 8:30pm
Sun, Feb 13 / 6:15pm
Thu, Feb 17 / 7pm
Tue, Feb 22 / 9:25pm
Directed by Mohammad Reza Aslani
1976, Iran, 93 min
Persian w/ English subtitles

Screened publicly just once before it was banned and then lost for decades, this rediscovered jewel of Iranian cinema reemerges to take its place as one of the most singular and astonishing works of the country’s pre-revolution New Wave. A hypnotically stylized murder mystery awash in shivery period atmosphere, Chess of the Wind unfolds in an ornate, candlelit mansion where a web of greed, violence, and betrayal ensnares the heirs to a family fortune as they vie for control of their recently-deceased matriarch’s estate. Melding the influences of European modernism, gothic horror, and classical Persian art, director Mohammad Reza Aslani crafts an exquisitely controlled mood piece that erupts in a stunningly subversive final act in which class conventions, gender roles, and even time itself are upended with shocking ferocity.

Reviews

Chess of the Wind is a shining example of how familiar genres and tones can meld together to form something that feels brand new.
- Glenn Heath Jr., The Film Stage
even measured against the Iranian and international cinematic treasures of the ‘70s, Aslani’s vision is still breathtakingly distinctive, an incisively devastating social critique embedded in a complex tale of intrigue, greed, oppression, and murder. The film is also, and perhaps most strikingly, a stylistic tour de force.
- Godfrey Cheshire, rogerebert.com
Aslani pulls story threads together with an elegant moving camera that doesn’t immediately give up all the secrets a scene may contain.
- Glenn Kenny, The New York Times
« June 2026 » loading...
M T W T F S S
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5

ABOUT US

The Winnipeg Film Group is an artist-run education, production, exhibition and distribution centre committed to promoting the art of cinema.
our location

We’re located in the heart of Winnipeg's historic Exchange District in the Artspace building. We are across the street from Old Market Square at the corner of Arthur Street and Bannatyne - one block west of Main.

The Winnipeg Film Group is located on Treaty 1 Territory and on the ancestral lands of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene Peoples and in the homeland of the Métis Nation. We offer our respect and gratitude to the traditional caretakers of this land.

contact