journey of ALTERNATIVE FILM LAB :

Alternative Film Lab
AFLab is the current form of an artistic inquiry that began in 1999.
Films are produced here.
Methods emerge through practice.
Teaching, research and production are never separate.
Every project transforms the laboratory.
And the laboratory transforms the next project.
Today, this ongoing inquiry continues through the production of short films, feature films and documentaries; the creation of interdisciplinary works; the presentation of these works through repertoires, retrospectives and international festivals; and the development of collaborations with universities and cultural institutions around the world.

about MOHAMMAD SHIRVANI :

Mohammad Shirvani (born 1973, Tehran) is an Iranian independent filmmaker and producer working between narrative and experimental cinema. His first short film The Circle (1999) was selected for the Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival, and his early works were distributed in Europe by MK2.
His debut feature Navel (2003) marked a turning point in Iranian underground cinema, challenging censorship and official production systems. His second feature Fat Shaker (2013) won the Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and was subsequently banned in Iran.
Working consistently outside official structures, Shirvani has developed an independent path in response to restriction and censorship. In 2012, he founded the Alternative Film Lab in Tehran, an initiative dedicated to supporting underground filmmaking and mentoring a new generation of filmmakers.
In 2015, in protest against censorship and the continued ban on his work, he released 18 of his prohibited films online, an act that resonated widely and influenced a new wave of independent Iranian filmmakers.
Three of his films received post-production support from the Hubert Bals Fund.
His films have screened at major festivals including Cannes, Berlinale, Sundance, Locarno, and Rotterdam. His latest feature ‘Cesarean Weekend’ premieres in the Forum section of Berlinale 2026.