Cinema Cinema, Mohsen Amiryousefi
From Mr Esfandiar Mortician of the Bitter Dream
To Mr. President Pezzeshkian

Mohsen Amiryousefi, cinemacinema.ir
February 19, 2026

To relieve insomnia, count the number of people killed in January!

Peace be upon you

Mr. Pezzeshkian, this is the first time that an old mortician writes a letter to the President, and I hope it has some effect, even if only a small one, because as a movie says, we are the most hopeful depressed people in the world right now!

As you are aware, in these forty days, Iran's cemeteries have become very populated. The average age of cemetery residents has dropped so much that it could be a world record, and even a good idea for your talkative spokesman to announce it. Now, the phrase "cemetery tranquility" has no more meaning, and instead, "cemetery excitement" has emerged, which shows that even the dead of these people are not the same as before!

Grieving mothers and fathers perform a mourning dance on their own childrens graves, which melts the stony hearts of us, the morticians. By God, my colleagues also have hearts, and washing away a few thousand dead young men of the homeland in two or three nights was a difficult task. Of course, this could also be a historical and perhaps global record for us, the morticians of the homeland! Believe me, some bodies were unrecognizable and some are still unidentified.

Mr. President, I said this so that I could get to your words about the Fajr Film Festival. Your Excellency, in the meeting of the government board, you said that society is wounded and wounds must be healed, otherwise it will engulf the entire society. Do you really think that someone who is the chairman of the Supreme National Security Council and has not been able to prevent tens of thousands of wounds that have led to death and injury can heal the wounded?! Dare I say, but how can someone who is part of the problem himself play the role of a problem solver?! It is not a movie, is it?!

Don't think, God forbid, that I intend to mock or slander you, but on those two historic nights in January 2026, Your Excellency, you really fulfilled your responsibility well by preventing the wounds from getting worse and the killing of people?! How could you really not stop all these bloodthirsty ISIS-like criminals, as you and your media say?!

Mr. President, I hope you have been given the right information about this year's Fajr Film Festival, because the last person close to you who just wanted to comment is still behind bars! The reason I am writing this article so frankly is because I feel no longer being alive in this world! And of course, I am glad that I was not there to vote at all, because then I would have spoken more strongly in defense of my vote! If you don't believe me, watch the Bitter Dream to both know the mortician I am and see the fate of the dictator of a cemetery.

Mr. Pezzeshkian, believe me, the filmmakers who have the power to heal wounds and maintain the cohesion and unity of Iran, ninety-nine percent of them did not attend this year's Fajr Film Festival at all! If you doubt it, take a look at the Fajr festivals of previous presidents and the closing ceremonies and see hundreds of famous figures in Iranian cinema who were at those ceremonies, but this year they were mourning thousands of bereaved families and did not come to the festival. This year, even famous filmmakers close to the government and the regime did not come, let alone independent Iranian filmmakers!

Mr. President, you spoke about the need for artists to heal wounds. Did you know that before the events of January 8 and 9, a number of these same filmmakers wrote two compassionate statements advising against violence against people? But instead of paying attention to it, those around you confronted the filmmakers with a flood of threats, calls, and lawsuits!

Mr. Pezzeshkian, at the closing ceremony of the Fajr Film Festival, you said that some nights you can't sleep. The reason is that instead of solving the problems and demands of the desperate and suffering Iranian people, you chose to ignore them!

But for now, as a mortician, I recommend that you count the number of people killed in January before going to bed to relieve your insomnia, so that you can sleep soundly!

Farewell and may God have mercy on us all. Amen!

Mr. Esfandiar

Mortician and an actor whose film was banned for twelve years!

February 19, 2026