CAT&Docs Unveils Trailer for Iranian Cosmetic Surgery Documentary 'Tehran, Under The Skin' Ahead of TIFF Premiere
Paris-based documentary sales company CAT&Docs has released the first trailer for Afsaneh Salari's Tehran, Under The Skin, ahead of its world premiere in the TIFF Docs section of the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival. Deadline
The film examines Tehran's legal cosmetic surgery industry, treating the booming trade in procedures as a lens onto the intersection of politics, beauty and personal agency for women in Iran. CAT&Docs, whose president is Catherine LeClef, acquired international sales rights — the role of selling a film's distribution rights territory by territory to buyers around the world. Deadline
Salari developed the project from observations made during the fifteen years she lived outside Iran. She returned to the plastic surgery epidemic as a way of reading the city's relationship to the female body — how bodies become surfaces on which political and social pressures are inscribed. Deadline
An earlier version of the project, under the title Tehran, Auto-Immune, was presented at the Fipadoc International Pitch in January 2025, examining beauty clinics in a city that records some of the world's highest rates of cosmetic surgery. Business Doc Europe
Tehran, Under The Skin is an international co-production of France, Iran and Sweden. TIFF It is produced by veteran documentary producer Christian Popp of Tanjo Films, along with YAMI 2 Productions, with co-producers Docmaniacs in association with Sisyfos Films. The project carries broadcast participation from France Télévisions, 3Cat and TVP, and support from CNC, Procirep and Angoa, with funding from Creative Europe – Media. Deadline
The craft team includes cinematographer Mohamad Hadadi, sound designer Ensieh Leyla Maleki, editor Audrey Maurion, colorist Nicolas Perret, and composer Shida Shahabi. Deadline
This is Salari's second feature documentary. Her debut, The Silhouettes (2020), followed an Iran-raised Afghan refugee planning to return to Afghanistan for work. She holds a BA in film editing from the Art University of Tehran and a Master's degree in Creative Directing and Cinematography from the University of Paris 8. Deadline
The TIFF Docs 2026 programme spans a global spectrum of non-fiction work, with world premieres covering subjects from footballer Megan Rapinoe to the intellectual Edward Said, alongside profiles of cowgirls, wine makers and alt-country musicians. TIFF Tickets for the festival go on sale to the general public on 31 August at 12pm. TIFF
For a documentary sales company, a trailer launch this close to a premiere is standard courtship: a two-minute cut designed to travel to buyers who cannot attend Toronto but may want to acquire the film for their territory once the festival conversation begins.
