THE COW

Proudly presented as part of our Persian Film Fest at FOMO Secret Cinema

THE COW follows a poor villager whose entire identity is tied to his only possession, a beloved cow. When the animal dies in secret, the village tries to hide the truth from him, leading to a slow and painful collapse of his sense of self. What begins as a rural drama turns into a study of obsession, poverty, and psychological breakdown.

This film belongs to the first wave of the Persian New Wave and is often described as the movement’s starting point. Its realism and focus on ordinary people broke sharply from the glossy studio films of the time. After the 1979 revolution, the film was briefly banned, then later embraced by the new authorities because of its moral tone, even though its message is deeply unsettling.

THE COW is today regarded as one of, if not THE most important film in Iranian history, and the foundation for everything that followed.