Winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Award at Cannes this year, Jafar Panahi's (The Circle, MIFF 2001) new film is a intimate and absorbing drama. Based on true events, told to Panahi by Abbas Kiarostami (who will be presenting selection of his own work at MIFF this year), Crimson Gold is the tragic story of a man, who, feeling humiliated in a world of injustice and materiality, is pushed beyond the boundaries of rational behaviour.

Hussein works as a pizza delivery driver, visiting wealthy neighbourhoods nightly on his motorbike—a constant reminder of his low social standing. When his friend, Ali, shows him the contents of a lost purse including a receipt of a necklace, Hussein cannot imagine the large sum of money required for such an expensive item. When he and Ali are refused entry to an uptown jewellery store because of their appearance, Hussein refuses to accept the decision, leading to tragic consequences.

Panahi uses Hussein's position as a delivery driver to move inside houses, behind close doors, to places free of social conformity. He exposes the hypocrisy of a system that results in pushing Hussein over the edge. A powerful, moving film.