Third Land: Iranian Refugee Family Documentary Premieres at Ji.hlava
A documentary about an Iranian family living as refugees in Turkey has premiered at the Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival in the Czech Republic. The film, Third Land, was directed by Farzad Khoshdast, according to Variety.
The film follows Hamid, an Iranian engineer, his wife Hananeh and their son. The family has spent thirteen years in exile in Turkey. They fled Iran after pressure from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, a powerful military force, according to the Czech Film Center.
Khoshdast said he met the family about four years ago while travelling in Turkey. Earning their trust took around two years, across three separate periods. Most of the filming took place in Ankara, with scenes also shot in Alanya and an industrial town near Istanbul.
Filming was not always smooth. Khoshdast said he was detained two or three times while shooting in Turkey, a detail he gave to Variety.
The festival's own listing describes Third Land as a Czech production from 2026, running 90 minutes. It was placed in the Czech Joy section, the festival's strand for Czech films.
For a film about people who have already waited more than a decade for stability, the path to the screen has been long too. Documentaries like this one often reach audiences through festivals first, where programmers, sales agents and buyers decide what travels next.
