Reading Lolita in Tehran Opens in US Theaters July 10

By The Backlot

@backlotfriends

Two figures sit on a park bench overlooking the vast cityscape of Tehran with mountains in the background, a political mural visible on a nearby wall

Reading Lolita in Tehran arrives in US limited release July 10 via Greenwich Entertainment. It is based on Azar Nafisi's memoir about secretly gathering female students in revolutionary Iran to read forbidden Western literature, including Lolita and Pride and Prejudice, while morality squads raid the streets outside.

Director Eran Riklis assembles a cast including Golshifteh Farahani and Zar Amir Ebrahimi. Ebrahimi won Best Actress at Cannes in 2022 for Holy Spider. The film runs 107 minutes.

The memoir has sold millions of copies since 2003. If you read it in school or picked it up at a bookshop, the film is a reason to revisit the story in a theater.

Watch Before You Go: Persepolis (2007).

Group Chat Take: The book has been on shelves for twenty years. The film gives you a reason to pull it back out.

Quick Facts

Reading Lolita in Tehran Opens in US Theaters July 10

DirectorEran Riklis

CastGolshifteh Farahani, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Mina Kavani, Bahar Beihaghi, Isabella Nefar

GenreDrama

Release2026-07-10

Runtime107 min

Rated7.3/10

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The adaptation of Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran is in US theaters July 10. Women reading banned books in revolutionary Iran. #ReadingLolitaInTehran #Backlot

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Reading Lolita in Tehran opens in US theaters July 10. Based on the bestselling memoir. Zar Amir Ebrahimi, who won Best Actress at Cannes 2022, stars.

Director Eran Riklis assembles a cast including Golshifteh Farahani and Zar Amir Ebrahimi. Ebrahimi won Best Actress at Cannes in 2022 for Holy Spider. The film runs 107 minutes.

The memoir has sold millions of copies since 2003. If you read it in school or picked it up at a bookshop, the film is a reason to revisit the story in a theater.

Watch Before You Go: Persepolis (2007).

Group Chat Take: The book has been on shelves for twenty years. The film gives you a reason to pull it back out.