# ‘Third Land’ Director on the Risks of Chronicling the Lives of Iranian Refugees in Turkey: It Was ‘Extremely Tense and Frightening’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/third-land-director-on-the-risks-of-chronicling-the-lives-of-iranian-refugees-in-turkey-it-was-extremely-tense-and-frightening/
- Published: 2026-10-27T13:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-27T13:51:03+00:00
- Original publisher: Variety
- Original article: https://variety.com/2026/film/global/third-land-iranian-family-jihlava-1236931456/
- Topics: Entertainment, Film, Middle East, World

## Key points

- *Third Land* follows an Iranian family’s uncertain life in Turkey.
- Its director says filming led to two or three detentions.
- The film highlights the limbo facing up to half a million Iranian refugees.

## Summary

Farzad Khoshdast’s documentary *Third Land* follows an Iranian family living in Turkey while recognised as refugees by aid organisations but lacking legal residence. The film shows how this uncertain status leaves them stuck between their former home and a new life, with delays, precarious work and fear of police scrutiny.

Khoshdast says he filmed the family in Ankara, Alanya and an industrial town near Istanbul, and was detained two or three times during production. He combined footage from three filming periods into the opening episodes, creating the impression that events unfolded over a day or two. The director says the family’s experience reflects the limbo facing as many as half a million Iranians who have fled, and notes that Hamid left a promising career after discovering his technical skills were being used in Iran’s missile system.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.