Director: Guy Nattiv, Zar Amir Ebrahimi
A judo mat becomes the setting for an impossible choice in Tatami, the 2024 thriller co-directed by Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir Ebrahimi.
What is Tatami about?
At the Judo World Championships, athlete Leila and her coach Maryam arrive with a real chance at a historic gold medal. Partway through the competition, officials back home deliver an ultimatum: Leila must fake an injury and withdraw, or face being branded a traitor to the state once she returns. What follows is less about the sport itself than about the pressure closing in around two women hundreds of miles from home, weighing a medal against their own safety and the safety of the people they love. Shot largely in tense, close quarters around the tournament venue, the film keeps its focus tight on Leila and Maryam as the walls close in from every direction, official and personal alike.
Cast & crew
Arienne Mandi plays Leila opposite Zar Amir Ebrahimi as her coach Maryam, with Jaime Ray Newman, Nadine Marshall, Lir Katz, Ash Goldeh, Valeriu Andriuță, and Mehdi Bajestani rounding out the tournament's world. Ebrahimi, known internationally for her César-winning turn in 'Holy Spider,' also co-directs the film alongside Guy Nattiv, giving her a hand in shaping the story from both sides of the camera.
Context & significance
Tatami is a co-production spanning Georgia, Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States, filmed largely in black and white to heighten the claustrophobic feel of a championship venue turned pressure chamber. Nattiv and Ebrahimi built the film around a fictional case, but the situation it depicts echoes real pressures that have been reported around Iranian athletes competing internationally, and the filmmakers frame the story as a character drama first rather than a documentary account of any single event.
Where & how to watch
Tatami is available to stream on K-Time with a free account login, no separate purchase needed to open the page or browse related titles. The platform's Farsi interface and Persian-speaking support team make it straightforward for Iranian diaspora audiences to find internationally produced films like this one alongside Persian-language series and channels.