Locarno Film Festival’s 2026 programme is highlighting emerging political filmmakers who work under pseudonyms, including Filmsaaz and Neozoon, in its Pardi di Domani section for experimental short films. The focus matters because the festival is positioning the programme as a platform for new cinematic voices and politically engaged work that may otherwise struggle to gain international visibility.

Filmsaaz, the pseudonym of Tehran-born artist Saleh Kashefi, will premiere the 21-minute short Ásheghetam in Locarno after debuting their first feature, Wolfgang, in Rotterdam earlier this year. Set during an underground Tehran rave disrupted by morality police and the outbreak of war, the film follows a queer young person seeking refuge in romantic fantasy; Filmsaaz said it was developed after the 12-day Iran–Israel war and completed rapidly so it could be seen while its subject remained urgent.