Ejareh-Nesheenha

Dariush Mehrjui wrote and directed Ejareh-Nesheenha (known in English as The Tenants, in French as Les Locataires and in Russian as Arendatory), an Iranian comedy-drama. Shot in Persian and running about 120 minutes, it is widely acclaimed as the best Iranian comedy of the 1980s.

The story follows the residents of an old, run-down apartment building on the edge of Tehran. While trying to repair the place they live in, the tenants run into one problem after another, and the film handles this with a tone that is both funny and thoughtful. Ezzatolah Entezami, Akbar Abdi and Hamideh Kheirabadi take the leading roles, with Hossein Sarshar, Reza Rooygari, Iraj Rad, Siavosh Tahmoures, Farimah Farjami and Manouchehr Hamedi also in the cast.

It was made at a time when formulaic, slogan-driven films dominated Iranian cinema, and it stands apart from its contemporaries for its abundant political and social references. It stayed in cinemas for eight years, was the top-grossing film of its release year and reached more than five million viewers, making it one of the most-watched Iranian films of its theatrical era. In a poll of critics run by Film magazine it also ranked among the best films in the history of Iranian cinema.