Axing /

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Axing (also known as Darkoub or The Woodpecker) is a critically acclaimed 2018 Iranian social drama film directed by Behrouz Shoeibi, who also co-wrote the script. The movie explores themes of addiction and family dynamics and has won several awards at international film festivals.

Synopsis

The film tells the story of Mahsa, a woman struggling with drug addiction who believes her daughter Goli is dead. When she discovers Goli is alive and living with her ex-husband, Roozbeh, and his new wife, Mahsa decides to fight for custody, disrupting their lives.

About my role

I played the role of Kaveh. He is one of the film’s main supporting antagonist characters, whose arc centers on betrayal and deception.

Kaveh is a drug addict, drug dealer, and fraudster. He is married to Tina, who is Mahsa’s (the protagonist’s) friend and housemate. Tina is also a heavy drug addict and is pregnant. Together, Kaveh and Tina plan to sell their unborn child in order to raise money to move to a new house.

They receive the first installment of the payment from Anari, the child’s broker. However, Tina later changes her mind and decides to keep the baby. By that time, Kaveh has already spent the money.

Mahsa gives Kaveh money to return to Anari so that Tina can keep her child. Instead, Kaveh takes the money and disappears. By the end of the film, it becomes clear that Kaveh is a scammer—and that this is the way he has always survived.

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