Born in Iran but living in France, Mehran Tamadon convinced four mullahs, all members of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to live with him for two days in a house. In this unusual situation, Tamadon attempted to establish, discuss and analyze the rules and limitations of a society in which they could live all together.

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This documentary aims not to denounce, but to understand those considered to be the enemy – or at least to try to do so: Mehran Tamadon’s ambition is as good as it is utopian. It is with this disarming sincerity and false candor that Tamadon sets the scene for a colossal debate, but his film only barely scratches the surface. Beyond the cultural and social gulf that separates the filmmaker and main character from his brothers/adversaries, Iranien lays out the difficulty inherent in listening and understanding one another within such a prickly context. When Tamadon’s calm façade quietly dissolves to give way to grim reality, the audience is there with him. Iranien offers no reassurance, nor does it lay any real blame except the world we must all live in together.