TEHRAN -- Iranian filmmaker Alireza Motamedi’s The Daughter of Lady Fairy has drawn praise from international critics following its screening in the main competition of the 42nd Warsaw International Film Festival, with reviewers highlighting its imaginative blend of comedy, fantasy, visual storytelling and inventive sound design.
In a review for Polish media outlet Warszawa.pl, critic Andrzej Łucjan described the film as an “impressive Iranian comedy-drama with fantasy elements and creative sound design”, noting that its unconventional form resists easy categorization.
The film’s humor, Łucjan observed, emerges from situations underpinned by genuine sadness. Animals bring freedom and vitality to its scenes, contrasting with human characters absorbed in their own troubles. These details help audiences accept the increasingly fantastical world of the film, which grows bolder as it moves away from realism.
Łucjan singled out the sound design for particular praise, stating that sound is far more than a supporting element. It possesses its own rhythm and identity, with ambient sounds in quieter scenes sometimes leaving a stronger impression than the dramatic conflicts themselves.
Argentine film critic Eduardo Elechiguerra, writing for cinema publication A Sala Llena, also praised the film’s imaginative aesthetic and the contributions of its technical team.
He highlighted the work of production
 designer Keyvan Moghaddam, cinematographer Ali Tabrizi, sound designer Zohreh Ali-Akbari, and production sound recordists Mahmoud Samakbashi and Mohsen Nankali, whose combined efforts shape the film’s distinctive, dreamlike world.
Among the visual details that linger in the memory, Elechiguerra noted reflections of libraries in glass doors, family photographs, television news concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and tensions between Iran and the United States, alongside the film’s varied lighting and colors.
The critic also explored the film’s absurdist treatment of mortality and permanence. The image of a mother who never grows old, he argued, becomes especially memorable through the technical team’s visual and sonic inventions.
By interweaving stories and fantastical elements, The Daughter of Lady Fairy incorporates the possibilities of sound recording into its narrative. Its visual and acoustic details are not merely decorative; they play an integral role in constructing meaning and shaping the audience’s experience.
Elechiguerra concluded by reflecting on the film’s unusual yet compelling faith in the possibility of love, an optimism that acquires particular resonance when viewers leave the cinema and return to an uncertain world.
Written, directed and produced by Motamedi, The Daughter of Lady Fairy has recently begun its international festival journey and is expected to receive a theatrical release in Iran.
The Warsaw International Film Festival, an established international showcase for contemporary cinema, provides a platform for filmmakers from around the world to present their work to international audiences and critics.