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Black Rabbit, White Rabbit, the latest feature by Iranian director Shahram Mokri, has been chosen as Tajikistan’s official contender for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards, scheduled for March 15, 2026. This rare selection reflects Tajikistan’s growing presence in world cinema, despite never having received an Oscar nomination in the category.
A narrative puzzle with surreal elegance
In Black Rabbit, White Rabbit, Mokri continues his exploration of time, narrative structure, and illusions. The film unfolds across three threads: a suspicious movie prop, a hauntingly strange audition, and a car crash whose motive remains unsettlingly vague. On paper, nothing connects them. On screen, they begin to leak into each other’s space, drawing viewers into a slow-burning enigma that begs to be unravelled.
The film’s identity is tightly bound to Mokri’s signature style: long, precisely choreographed takes that give the impression of a continuous shot. These uninterrupted sequences aren’t just technical flourishes — they blur the boundaries between moments, space, and even realities. With hints of magic realism and an ironic humor that underscores its more anxious elements, the film keeps the viewer off balance, never quite certain if what they’re seeing is happening, being filmed, or remembered.
There’s something Lynchian here, though with a quieter, more contemplative tone. As a viewer, I found myself absorbed and strangely disoriented — as if I were dreaming a film about film itself. To read Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton face off in 2026’s Apex trailer
A rare Oscar bid highlights Tajikistan’s ambitions
Tajikistan’s submission is a noteworthy moment for the nation’s budding film industry. This marks only its fourth Oscar submission, making Black Rabbit, White Rabbit as important politically as it is artistically. The project is a co-production with the United Arab Emirates and has backing from the state-supported company Tajikfilm.
The film’s multilingual fabric — blending Tajik and Persian — reflects the cross-border collaboration, but it also adds texture to the mystery. It’s worth noting that despite being an official Tajik release, the creative vision remains deeply rooted in Mokri’s Iranian background, especially given that his previous work has been firmly embedded within Iran’s festival circuit.
The dreamlike cast & production team
The cast includes several prominent names from Tajik cinema:
- Babak Karimi, whose calm intensity anchors the story’s surrealism
- Hasti Mohammaï, enigmatic and arresting in one of the film’s most ambiguous roles
- Kibriyo Dilyobova and Bezhan Davlyatov, who add weight and nuance to the secondary plots
The screenplay was co-written by Mokri and his frequent collaborator, Nasim Ahmadpour. The producer, Negar Eskandarfar, brings continuity from Mokri’s previous films, while the distribution has been entrusted to DreamLab Films, a company known for championing boundary-pushing international works.
Festival accolades and Mokri’s rising legacy
Black Rabbit, White Rabbit first made its mark at the Busan International Film Festival, where it took home the Vision Asian Award. That kind of recognition isn’t just symbolic; it sends a signal that the film resonates across audiences and borders. In the coming months, it will also screen at the BFI London Film Festival and the Chicago International Film Festival — two important stops that could build momentum toward the Oscars. To read Ranking Shyamalan’s Hits: Which Film Defines His Legacy?
For Shahram Mokri, this film adds another chapter to a unique and evolving body of work. His debut, Fish & Cat (2013), already demonstrated a fascination with recurring time loops and one-shot storytelling and earned him a special prize in Venice’s Horizons section. Invasion (2017) and Careless Crime (2020) confirmed that he’s a filmmaker never content with linear narratives or easy answers.
I’ve always admired Mokri’s commitment to cinema that challenges perception itself. Watching his films can feel like walking through a maze of mirrors — not everything reflects reality, but you always walk away seeing something new.
An intriguing bet on storytelling and identity
At a time when many Oscar hopefuls rely on emotional gut punches or grand historical epics, Black Rabbit, White Rabbit offers something quieter but no less ambitious. It’s a meditation on cinema, perhaps even a love letter to storytelling itself — only the kind that asks you to question what you’re seeing every step of the way.
Will voters at the Academy embrace it? It’s not a crowd-pleaser, but that’s hardly the point. By selecting it, Tajikistan puts forward a film that dares to be different: layered, lyrical, and quietly unsettling. For fans of cinema that doesn’t hold your hand but invites you to explore, Mokri’s latest could be one of 2026’s most intriguing international entries.
