Past Future Continuous is an Iranian documentary directed by Morteza Ahmadvand and Firouzeh Khosrovani. The film will make its international premiere at the 2025 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). The trailer for the upcoming film is exclusive coverage for The Hollywood Reporter and offers the first look at the central themes such as family, distance, and time (The Hollywood Reporter, 2025).
The film follows Maryam, a woman who now lives in the United States but decades ago lived in Tehran, where her elderly parents remain. In the midst of increasing political unrest in Iran, Maryam becomes concerned for her parents. With much convincing, she has them install surveillance cameras throughout their property. While the cameras are meant to be a precaution, Maryam becomes an observer of her parents’ lives as the cameras allow her a window into their daily routines. The footage begins to reveal quiet domestic moments alongside emotional scenes weighed down by the toll of separation. Maryam begins to reflect on her own absence from her country as well as her parents’ lives, revealing that loneliness often persists across oceans. The documentary intertwines real-time surveillance footage with archival home videos and poetic imagery, creating a reflective tone that quietly showcases ideas such as displacement, time, and the changing meaning of home (The Hollywood Reporter, 2025).
The documentary’s tone is gentle and unhurried, yet its themes carry a quiet intensity that leaves a deep impact, aligning with a wave of modern Iranian cinema that focuses on memories and experiences while also tackling social and political constraints. Khosrovani previously won Best Feature-Length Documentary at IDFA for her 2020 film Radiograph of a Family, which also centered around family and the effects of generational division. With its blend of personal narrative and philosophical inquiry, Past Future Continuous hopes to offer an intimate reflection on the bonds that endure no matter the time or distance (The Hollywood Reporter, 2025)
Watch the trailer for Past Future Continuous here:
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