The Hunter

Recently released from prison, Ali makes the most of his return, amidst much talk of the upcoming elections and promises of change. Despite working nights, he tries to spend the most time possible with his beautiful wife and young daughter. To escape the stress of urban living, Ali retreats to his favorite pastime of hunting in the secluded forest north of town. Tragedy strikes and Ali's wife Sara is accidentally killed in a police shoot-out with demonstrators. After a long and frustrating experience at the police station, Ali's own search for his missing six-year-old daughter ends in horror and pushes him over the edge. In broad daylight, overlooking the busy city's surrounding highways, Ali randomly shoots and kills two policemen. After a high-speed car chase outside of town, Ali flees into the northern forest where he is captured by two police officers. Ali is resigned to his fate and watches quietly as the arguing policemen lose their way in the woods. Situations complicate and the line between hunter and hunted becomes difficult to define...

Rafi Pitts' films have attained acclaim and awards around the globe. His first feature, "Season Five" (1997), was the first Franco-Iranian co-production since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, and premiered in Venice. "Sanam" (2000) was hailed by French critics as « the Iranian 400 Blows ». In 2003, Pitts presented his controversial feature documentary, "Abel Ferrara: Not Guilty" in Locarno . "It's Winter" (2006) premiered in Berlin in Competition, and one year later, the Seattle International Film Festival honored Pitts with the Emerging Masters Award for his work.
Born 1967 in Iran, Pitts spent his childhood in Tehran, where he lived in a basement flat underneath a post-production studio. During the war between Iran and Iraq, in 1981, he fled the country and moved to Britain.
He graduated in 1991 from Harrow College - Polytechnic of Central London with a BA (Hons.) Degree in Film and Photography. His first short, "In Exile" (1991), was presented the same year at the London International Film Festival. In the 90's, Pitts moved to Paris and worked on films by Leos Carax, Jacques Doillon and Jean-Luc Godard.

Filmography

2010 »The Hunter« (Shekarchi), feature film
2006 »It’s Winter« (Zemestan), feature film
2003 »Abel Ferrara: Not Guilty«, documentary (from the series “Cinéma de notre temps”)
2000 »Sanam«, feature film
1997 »Season Five« (Fasl-e Panjom), feature film