THE STORY – Bahar is an acclaimed Iranian director, having made numerous films selected in international festivals. So when she casts actors and asks them to wear women’s outfits for her latest film, they agree in the hope of an international career – or even a visa to leave the country. But wearing skirts and headscarves under the heat is harder than they expected…as is the hit to their pride.
THE CAST – Mehrnoosh Sattari, Saeed Naderi, Ebrahim Azizi, Amir Hajimohammadi, Reza Mohseni, Saman Mazloomi & Lili Farhadpour
THE TEAM – Ghasideh Golmakani (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 80 Minutes
Some films are so perfectly provocative in their conception that they don’t need much else other than their concept to work. More often than not, though, a film needs either a compelling narrative or characters to bolster its concept in order to fully deliver. Such is the case with Ghasideh Golmakani’s “Head to Head,” which is animated by one of the best ideas of any film premiering at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival. Acclaimed filmmaker Bahar (Mehrnoosh Sattari) has cobbled together a cast of actors hoping for international acclaim in her newest film, one which has the men wearing the skirts and headscarves required of women in Iran. Naturally, all they can do is complain: It’s too hot under the scarves, they get in the way of basic actions, they can’t keep the immodest parts of their body covered. These men have never even thought about how difficult it is for women to wear such clothing, and Bahar rules the set with an iron fist to ensure they wear everything just as women do, even when the cameras aren’t rolling. Naturally, they must film the project in secret, and when officials show up, things only get more complicated, sending them off the set into the real world.
Bahar’s film seems strange on the surface, but it quickly becomes clear that the script they’re shooting is just a front for the real film: a documentary about the men forced to behave like women. The actors all have different attitudes about it, with one even shaving his facial hair and staying mostly silent. One, of course, rebels against it even while filming scenes, displaying open contempt for not just Bahar but all women by refusing to subject himself to some slight discomfort. Naturally, he has no other clothes when they evacuate the set, and must wear the skirt and headscarf in public. This forced humbling feels like the point of Bahar’s film, to push these men to engage with their misogyny and acknowledge what they put women through on a daily basis in part because their culture assumes that men cannot control themselves around even a centimeter of womanly flesh.
Bahar notably refuses to wear a headscarf herself, becoming aggressive whenever anyone suggests she do so. Even off the set, with officials and the populace’s “moral police” everywhere, she protests against the headscarf, despite the patina of safety it provides. The most intriguing aspects of Golmakani’s screenplay center around Bahar’s position as an Iranian filmmaker with an international presence. A fully modern woman, she does not believe she should have to make compromises for anyone, but the world doesn’t necessarily work that way. Making a social satire of this sort in Iran may have some effect on the outside world’s perception of the country, but any change she can actually affect feels far removed from the actual reality of life in her home country. You can feel the desperation in Sattari’s guarded performance; Bahar knows this may be her one chance to actually make a difference at home, by forcing these three men out of their comfort zone and reflecting on how these things affect the women in their lives. For her, this is more than just a film to take to festivals and garner acclaim, this is a deeply important personal moment.
Golmakani’s passion and personal connection to the material shines through, but as social satire, “Head to Head” falls somewhat flat. The comedy doesn’t hit hard enough to register most of the time, with a few chuckles coming from the men’s faux pas with their costumes, but not much else. The silent bits of physical comedy from the quietest member of the cast sneaking around the background of frames, headscarf billowing behind him, offer the biggest laughs in the film, but they’re few and far between. While it can’t be said that Golmakani doesn’t make her point, it would be hard for her not to do so, since her point is so deeply embedded in the film’s concept. Watching “Head to Head,” you get exactly what you’d expect from the premise, but nothing more, and in the case of the film’s sense of humor, maybe even a little less. That’s disappointing, since the concept is so intriguing, but the film still has substance worth discussing, even if it doesn’t do all it could with that concept.
