Two Dogs + Wild Hogs and Saffron

Followed by a discussion with filmmaker Andy Sarjahani, series programmer Farihah Zaman, and ArteEast‘s Gelareh Kiazand and Lila Nazemian

Dir. Amir Azizi. 2019, 82 mins. Iran. Persian with English subtitles. DCP. With Sajjad Dolati, Ali Bagheri, Sohelia Golestani, Amir Salehian. Iman and Sajjad are two young men facing the struggles of their thirties in contemporary Iran: unemployment, depression, and lack of self-confidence. Iman, a cab driver, spends his time translating Franz Kafka’s Investigations of a Dog into Persian, while his passengers strangely resemble the characters in Kafka’s story. Sajjad, his best friend, is deeply self-conscious about his appearance and desperately trying to save money for surgery. Both men own dogs that eerily resemble their personalities. In a traditional Iranian society where the men often feel like outsiders, their dogs become their closest companions, offering them a rare sense of connection and solace. 

Preceded by: 
Wild Hogs and Saffron 
Dir. Andy Sarjahani. 2024, 18 mins. U.S. DCP. Iranian-American filmmaker Sarjahani and his childhood friend Bubba Samuels go on a wild hog hunt in their native Ozarks. Unexpected conversations have a lasting impact on their friendship. 

These films are part of ArteEast’s screening series titled Thresholds of Masculinity, presenting films that transcend stereotypical depictions of Iranian male identity. While the heightened marginalization of women in Iran since the 1979 revolution has detrimentally affected all aspects of their daily lives, men have traditionally faced far fewer restrictions. As women continue to defy and push against these imposed barriers, many Iranian men are left questioning their own place within the shifting landscapes of their society. Azizi and Sarjahani’s films engage with these male experiences, both in Iran and the American diaspora. 

Tickets: $17.50 / $12 senior and students / $10 youth (ages 3–17) / free for MoMI members at the Senior/Student level and above. There is a $1.50 transaction fee per ticket for all online purchases. The cost of admission may be applied toward a same-day purchase of a membership. 

Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. 

About the filmmakers: 

Amir Azizi, born in 1984 in Ahvaz, started his film career in 2003 as an assistant director for a number of famous directors. He has made a few documentaries and short films. His debut feature film Temporary (2015) was screened at many international festivals. Two Dogs is his second feature film. 

Andy Sarjahani is an Iranian American documentary filmmaker and cinematographer raised in a working-class community outside the Arkansas Ozarks. He is interested in people, our relationship to place, and how that shapes our worldview. His work focuses on human ecology, the natural world, class, the American South and the experience of the Iranian diaspora, separately and when they overlap.