For several decades Iranian cinema has proven its ability to draw upon the magic of storytelling that has seen filmmakers like Abbas Kariostami, Majid Majidi and Jafar Panahi prove the universal appeal of the visual medium.

A new film tells the story of Yahya whose life is transformed by a secret stash of DVDs that allow him to encounter different worlds outside his life salvaging scrap materials. Yahya’s life changes when he stumbles upon the missing statuette meant for Asghar Farhadi who won the 2017 Oscar but refused to attend in protest of Donald Trump’s Muslim ban.

Stephen Hill talked to the director Hassan Nazer about this film “Winners” that gets its Australian premier at the Iranian Film Festival.