A Dress Rehearsal for an Execution

In 1979, an anonymous photographer won a Pulitzer Prize for "Firing Squad in Iran," a photo of 11 Kurdish men being executed after the Iranian Revolution. In 2006, after years of fearing for his life, Jahangir Razmi announced that he had taken the picture. A few years later, Razmi and filmmaker Tavoosi (The Republic of [A]) attempt to re-create the photograph using actors and a location in Canada (where Razmi and Tavoosi currently live). It took years to find the location best suited for the updated image. Several of the actors are themselves refugees or descendants of refugees, making this a more personal role to play. Unfortunately, the film is disjointed and poorly edited (there are ten-second blank-screen moments that may have viewers thinking the DVD is damaged); features intermittently poor audio; and needs more interviews with Razmi and the actors.