The Guardian | Saeed Kamali Dehghan: As they rose to their feet for the national anthem, the mood among the crowd was sombre. Iran’s leading film festival, usually seven days of red carpet premieres and gong-giving, was forgoing the glamour of the silver screen as the country outside suffered the chill of economic hardship.

The organisers had months earlier said the festival would match the downcast mood of a country where sanctions and escalating political turmoil have hit the living standards of many ordinary Iranians. The death of Ezatollah Entezami, a celebrated actor of the 1960s Persian new wave, known in Iran simply as Mr Actor, further dampened spirits.

The pared-back celebrations in Tehran’s Vahdat Hall earlier this month, however, belied an industry in robust health – thriving in large part due to the same economic pressures that kept the glitz from the awards ceremony on the festival’s closing night. Iranians are flocking to the cinema in record numbers, attracted by relatively affordable ticket prices and a slew of mood-lifting new comedies.

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