TEHRAN -- Iranian cinemas will welcome four new films in September, adding an animated adventure, two comedies and an action drama to the country’s late-summer box office.
The Exhibition Council registered theatrical contracts for “Rescue Spaceship,” “Napoleon in the Apricot Garden,” “Escort” and “Khanom Valedeh,” with the films scheduled to open on Sept. 4, 11 and 25.
The lineup offers a relatively broad mix of genres, from family-oriented animation to star-led comedy and a festival-recognized action film.
“Rescue Spaceship,” directed and written by Hadi Muhammadian and produced by Muhammad-Amin Hamdani, will open Sept. 4. Distributed by Bahman Sabz, the animation will have Azadi Cinema Complex as its lead venue.
Set on a distant planet, the film follows Darya, a girl awaiting a legendary hero who can save her people from the “water thieves.” Hani, a boy who dreams of becoming a hero, is accidentally sent into space instead of an astronaut monkey and lands on Darya’s planet, setting off an unexpected adventure.
Also opening Sept. 4, “Napoleon in the Apricot Garden” is a social comedy written and directed by Hamed Muhammadi and produced by Ehsan Zalipour. Filmiran is distributing the film, with Iran Mall Cinema Complex serving as its lead venue.
Saeed Aghakhani and Amir Jafari star as Bahman and Yahya, two prisoners who devise a plan to
 carry out the biggest robbery of their lives in the hope of solving their financial problems. Their scheme, however, leads them into a series of unforeseen comic situations.
“Escort,” written and directed by Yousef Hatamikia and produced by Muhammad-Reza Mansouri, will follow on Sept. 11. Distributed by Shahr-e Farang, the film has Hoveyzeh Cinema Complex as its lead venue.
The film centers on a conscript who, seeking money for a friend’s cancer treatment, agrees to accompany a female shouti driver transporting a smuggled shipment. Amir Jadidi, Hoda Zeinolabedin, Afshin Hashemi, Reza Kianian, Mehdi Zaminpardaz and Hadi Sheikh-Eslami star.
“Escort” previously screened at the 44th Fajr Film Festival, where it received the Crystal Simorgh for the audience award for best film, shared with “The Death Bath” Editor Meysam Molayi also received the festival’s Crystal Simorgh and diploma of honor for his work on the film.
The final release, “Khanom Valedeh,” will open Sept. 25 in the open-group category. Directed by Soheil Movaffagh from a screenplay by Hamzeh Salehi and produced by Seyyed Ebrahim Amerian, the comedy stars Reza Attaran and Abbas Jamshidifar as two indebted brothers who learn of an unexpected inheritance.
Their newfound prospect of financial relief sets off a chain of misunderstandings and comic complications, with Shabnam Ghorbani, Gholamreza Nikkhah, Iman Safa, Giti Ghasemi and Ali Dehkordi also appearing.