by
Hossein Hejrati
Film Specs
Runtime: 13 minutes
Year of Completion: 2023
Country/Countries of Production: Iran
Language(s): Persian
About
Rasoul seeks revenge for childhood sexual abuse by killing the perpetrator, who is now serving in a high position in a corrupt hierarchy. But fate has something else in store for him when he shows up at the man's place.
Hossein Hejrati
DIRECTOR
Hossein Hejrati is an Iranian architect and filmmaker based in London. He began his professional career in architecture in Tehran in 2004, where he received several national and international awards. His background in architecture continues to inform his cinematic work through a strong attention to space, composition, and visual structure.
He transitioned to filmmaking in 2016 with his debut short film Maman Soori’s Case, which was selected and screened at numerous international festivals, including Montreal World Film Festival. His subsequent short films have continued to screen internationally, exploring themes of isolation, identity, power, and moral ambiguity.
In 2023, Hossein Hejrati was recognized as an Exceptional Global Talent by Arts Council England.
Artist Reflection
What inspired you to make this film?
A few years ago, in a tragic real-life incident, an elderly intellectual took his own life, one day after giving away his cherished collection of books to a second-hand bookshop.
My friend, Elahe Forghani, wrote a short story inspired by this tragic event. Elahe’s story, together with the news of a teacher who had sexually abused several of his students and escaped prosecution because of his connections within the system, came together in my mind and gave rise to the idea for this film.
It is the story of a young man who enters an office tower seeking revenge against a man who abused him as a child. The man now holds a powerful position within a corrupt hierarchy.
But the young man’s fate ultimately falls into the hands of an elderly security guard: an intellectual who, driven into isolation, has taken up security work simply to make a living.
At the heart of the film is the encounter between these two generations. The Last Wolf brings together two forms of resistance: the enforced isolation of an intellectual pushed to the margins of society, and the anger of a younger generation standing against a corrupt system.
In the end, what the old man leaves the young man is his last remaining book, adorned with drops of his own blood.
What was the most challenging thing about making this film?
The biggest challenge was the broader reality of making independent films in Iran, from finding funding and securing a budget to creating the means to produce the film independently and bring it to completion.
But what makes this possible is the remarkable community of talented Iranian artists who join these projects with passion and generosity. I think this passion is what keeps the light of independent Iranian cinema alive and gives it its freshness and vitality.
What do you hope audiences carry with them after watching?
I hope the film leaves audiences with a sense of reflection on resistance. More than anything, I hope the encounter between these two characters stays with them after the film ends.
What’s next for you?
I’m working on my debut feature film, an international production exploring memory, displacement, and inherited trauma.