Cannes ACID Doc ‘Into the Jaws of the Ogre,’ With Footage Shot in Iran Under Censorship, Lands at Rediance (EXCLUSIVE)

Beijing-based sales company Rediance has taken on international sales of “Into the Jaws of the Ogre,” the debut feature documentary from Iranian-French director Mahsa Karampour, which is set to screen in the ACID sidebar at the Cannes Film Festival.

The film centres on Karampour’s reunion with her brother Siâvash, formerly a vocalist in an Iranian underground punk band now living in exile in New York. The pair travel through New York City and along American highways, the journey surfacing memories of Tehran – among them footage Karampour shot in Iran under censorship, her brother’s childhood recollections, and the story of the murder of Siâvash’s band, The Yellow Dogs, in New York. As Siâvash increasingly retreats into imaginary characters, the documentary traces a sibling relationship shaped and strained by displacement, set against a backdrop of escalating tension between Iran and the United States that carries personal consequences for both subjects.

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“Into the Jaws of the Ogre” is produced by Mathilde Raczymow of Les films du Bilboquet, with support from Tënk, Mediapart, Périphérie, the CNC, Procirep et Angoa, Ciclic, SCAM, and Institut Français. The project was developed and presented at Parisdoc WIP, Moulin d’Andé, Massa Mare, Eurodoc, and the WIPP Festival.

Karampour trained at the École documentaire de Lussas following studies in sociology at EHESS and cinema at Sorbonne Nouvelle University. She works as a sound and camera operator, leads film workshops, and is active in festival programming. In 2024, she appeared in a stage adaptation of Abbas Kiarostami’s “Ten,” directed by Guilda Chahverdi.

Rediance has established a strong record with awarded international titles. Its recent slate includes Déni Oumar Pitsaev’s “Imago,” which won the Golden Eye for best documentary at Cannes last year, and Fujimoto Akio’s “Lost Land,” which received the Venice Horizons special jury prize and the best film prize at the Red Sea Film Festival. The company’s current lineup also includes “Tristan Forever” by Tobias Nölle and Loran Bonnardot, selected for Berlinale Panorama.