Secret Ballot

"Funny, provocative, well-paced… Leaves a memorable bittersweet aftertaste."

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

"Exploring everything from military inertia and rural ignorance to political idealism and the changing role of women, this is a deliciously absurdist satire on a country where remoteness and indifference are as much a hindrance to reform as doctrine and tradition…Payami reinforces his gently mocking message through the cautious by-play between his non-professional leads. His sterling efforts were rewarded with a special director’s award at the 2001 Venice Film Festival."

THE RADIO TIMES

"Entrancing….SECRET BALLOT charms with its amalgam of absurdity, optimism, humor and avuncular regard for the million small daily chores, rituals, suspicions, and courtesies of dwellers on even the sparest spots on earth."

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

"The landscape photography, by Farzad Jodat, is fully up to the high standards of the Iranian cinema, and there is always something pleasant to look at in the film."

THE NEW YORK TIMES

"Payami again demonstrates his confident way with ambient sound….The film’s engaging characters and the rollicking, often bizarre nature of their encounters confirm him as a film-maker of ability and personal vision."

SIGHT AND SOUND