Reading Lolita in Tehran

Play trailer

1:57

Reading Lolita in Tehran

Now Playing

1h 47m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

28 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

The screen adaptation of Azar Nafisi's beloved memoir tells the true story of a literature professor in revolutionary Iran who, amidst censorship and religious extremism, gathers seven of her most dedicated female students to immerse themselves in banned literary classics. A film by Eran Riklis starring Golshifteh Farahani (Paterson), Zar Amir (Holy Spider), and Mina Kavani (No Bears).

Now in Theaters

Now Playing

Buy Tickets

Thelma Adams

AARP Movies for Grownups

Jul 21

4/5

Beloved book club fiction gets the big-screen treatment in this condensed, thought-provoking adaptation of Azar Nafisi’s 2003 memoir of the same name.

Go to Full Review

Peter Travers

The Travers Take

Jul 17

2.5/4

The execution is clumsy, even didactic, but you’ll cheer as women rebel against cultural censorship and an enslaving patriarchy by reading forbidden books and spreading the word.

Go to Full Review

Christian Zilko

IndieWire

Jul 16

C+

When your audience has likely already bought into your core message before they make it out of the concession line, you have to eventually offer them something richer. For all of its noble intentions, “Reading Lolita in Tehran” never quite gets there.

Go to Full Review

Frank Swietek

One Guy's Opinion

5d

C

A story of wrenching power, and one wishes that Riklis’ film did it justice...earnest but, as filmmaking, rather stolid and, dare one say it, dull.

Go to Full Review

Stephen Silver

Splice Today

Jul 17

A decent effort, although there are many films by Iranian filmmakers that are better treatments of similar subject matter.

Go to Full Review

Leslie Combemale

AWFJ.org

Jul 16

3/5

About the harm systemic gender discrimination, denyng equal rights to women, does to a society. It is something that continues to be an international issue, and is getting worse in a number of Western countries, including the US.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

John T

@JohnTesnohlidek 2d

Terrific adaptation of Azar Nafisi’s extraordinary book.

See more

Cy

Jul 15

Fuck everyone associated with this trash.

See more

Moody C

@MoodyC Jul 14

A brisk walk into Iran’s past when women were allowed to wear & read whatever they want before revolution. Unfortunately, author’s personal story not so much compelling as her country’s history but Farahani is as compelling as she is beautiful so she will keep you watching.

See more

Stephen C

@bob25009 Jul 10

The worldwide gross is $1,412,121.00.

See more

Runa R

@runa.r 07/15/2025

This Israeli director – Eran Riklis – made this film in 2024, at the age of 69. It is set in Iran. Films of this kind tend to be made either by Iranian filmmakers in exile, or by Israelis or others considered enemies of the Iranian regime. One way or another, we continue to learn about the horrors inflicted on women in that country.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Eran Riklis

Director

Golshifteh Farahani

Actor

Zar Amir-Ebrahimi

Actor

Mina Kavani

Actor

Lara Wolf

Actor

Bahar Beihaghi

Actor

We Were Dangerous

97%

%

We Were Dangerous

Watchlist

TRAILER

for We Were Dangerous

Little Women

95%

92%

Little Women

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Little Women

Withdrawal

%

%

Withdrawal

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Withdrawal

The Little Sister

85%

%

The Little Sister

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Little Sister

Unsilenced

100%

100%

Unsilenced

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Reading Lolita in Tehran: Trailer 1

1:57

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

The screen adaptation of Azar Nafisi's beloved memoir tells the true story of a literature professor in revolutionary Iran who, amidst censorship and religious extremism, gathers seven of her most dedicated female students to immerse themselves in banned literary classics. A film by Eran Riklis starring Golshifteh Farahani (Paterson), Zar Amir (Holy Spider), and Mina Kavani (No Bears).

Director: Eran Riklis
Producer: Marica Stocchi, Gianluca Curti, Moshe Edery, Santo Versace, Eran Riklis, Michael Sharfshtein
Screenwriter: Marjorie David, Azar Nafisi
Distributor: Greenwich Entertainment
Production Co: Minerva Pictures, WestEnd Films, RAI Cinema, Eran Riklis Productions, Rosamont, United King Films, Topia Communications
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Persian
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 10, 2026, Limited
Runtime: 1h 47m