Farhang Foundation and the UCLA Library Film & Television Archive present
A Celebration of Iranian Cinema Screening

COUP 53

Farhang Foundation and the UCLA Library Film & Television Archive proudly present the premiere of COUP 53, a film by Taghi Amirani, starring Ralph Fiennes.  Part of the 2020 UCLA CELEBRATION OF IRANIAN CINEMA screenings.

GET TICKETS NOW

Ticket includes a live Q&A on August 20 with Ralph Fiennes, Walter Murch, and Taghi Amirani

The story of America and Britain overthrowing democracy in Iran in 1953, told in extraordinary detail using never seen before footage and documents. Brought to life with a unique and mesmerizing performance by Ralph Fiennes.

While making a documentary about the CIA/MI6 coup in Iran in 1953, Iranian director Taghi Amirani and editor Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now, The Conversation, The English Patient) discover never seen before archive material hidden for decades. The 16mm footage and documents not only allow the filmmakers to tell the story of the overthrow of the Iranian government in unprecedented detail, but it also leads to explosive revelations about dark secrets buried for 67 years. Working with Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Schindler’s List, The English Patient) to help bring the lost material to life, what began as a historical documentary about four days in August 1953 turned into a live investigation, taking the filmmakers into uncharted cinematic waters. The roots of Iran's volatile relationship with America and Britain has never been so forensically and dramatically exposed.

A ticket for the screening also includes an exclusive Q+A with Ralph Fiennes, Walter Murch and Taghi Amirani which will be available on August 20.

Left to right: Walter Murch, Ralph Finnes, Taghi Amirani on the set of COUP 53. Photo credit: Ali Amirani

Ralph Finnes as British spy Norman Darbyshire in COUP 53. Photo credit: Chris Morphet

COUP 53 animation by Martyn Pick

“This is big. This is going to be big!”
Werner Herzog

"remarkable"

"passionate and fearless"
"will enthrall documentary and history geeks"
"jaw dropping revelations"
“has the air of something that grew from an impudent home movie into a magnum opus"
Todd McCarthy - Hollywood Reporter

“as compelling as a John Le Carre novel or a Costa-Gavras classic”
Allen Hunter - Screen Daily

"a superb work of journalism and research"
Vancouver Observer

“Amazing. Beautifully done. Clever use of archive. Unique.”
Oliver Stone

"an astonishing feat of film-making"
London Metro

"a work of art and a masterpiece of political intervention"
“a thriller that had me on the edge of my seat”
"beyond extraordinary"
Ariel Dorfman

“Nail-bitingly suspenseful”
“Plays like a thriller on the big screen”
Carol Nahra - International Documentary Association

"masterful storytelling makes this a taut and thrilling watch"
“captivating tour-de-force”
Elhum Shakerifar - BFI London Film Festival

GET TICKETS NOW

Tickets can be purchased now through midnight (PST) on August 19. The film is available to be viewed on August 19 at 6 PM PST for a period of 24 hours. Once the viewing has commenced, you will have 24 hours to finish watching the film before the screening expires.

Screening provided via eventive.org