Iranian Refugee Filmmaker Vahid Mahdavi’s AI-Hybrid Feature “77 Hours” Brings Iran’s January 2026 Violence to International Audiences

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

London, United Kingdom — 26 June 2026 — CVP CHAT LTD announces the launch of the international media campaign for “77 Hours”, a Persian-language feature film written and directed by Vahid Mahdavi, an Iranian refugee filmmaker, producer and former television professional.

The film is inspired by the violence and mass civilian suffering reported around the events of 8–9 January 2026 in Iran. Through a tense survival narrative, “77 Hours” follows an injured man trapped in the aftermath of a public massacre, as civilians, medical workers and families attempt to survive two nights of fear, confusion and brutality.

Blending real actors with AI-generated cinematic environments, “77 Hours” is described by its production team as one of the first ultra-realistic AI-hybrid political survival feature films. The project uses new visual production methods to recreate a large-scale atmosphere of unrest, hospital raids, civilian panic and urban violence, while keeping the emotional focus on ordinary people caught inside a national tragedy.

The story follows, a man who becomes trapped in the chaos after going into the city to collect his phone. After being wounded during the unrest, he is taken to a hospital where the situation rapidly deteriorates. Security forces storm the building, the wounded disappear, and man finds himself fighting to stay alive among the bodies of those who did not survive.

Alongside him are characters including a mother searching for her young daughter, a doctor forced into impossible choices, and civilians trying to understand what has happened around them.

For writer-director Vahid Mahdavi, an Iranian refugee filmmaker whose work has been shaped by displacement, exile and years of experience in television and visual storytelling, “77 Hours” is more than a political thriller. It is an attempt to preserve memory through cinema.

“As an Iranian refugee and filmmaker, I believe stories like this must not disappear into silence,” said Vahid Mahdavi, writer and director of “77 Hours”. “This film is about survival, fear, sacrifice and the human cost of state violence. It is a cinematic witness to people whose voices were never allowed to be heard.”

Mahdavi’s background includes work in television, film production, editing and visual storytelling, including experience with international Persian-language media. His personal journey as a refugee also shaped the emotional foundation of the film and its focus on trauma, survival and the responsibility to document history.

“77 Hours” will be presented at a Premium Private Screening and red-carpet event at Curzon Soho, London, on Friday, 10 July 2026, from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. The screening will bring together media representatives, filmmakers, cultural figures and members of the Iranian political and human rights community as part of the film’s wider international campaign.

The film is intended for adult audiences and contains intense depictions of violence, trauma and political repression. The producers hope the film will open wider conversations about the events of January 2026, the role of cinema in preserving collective memory, and the growing use of AI-assisted filmmaking as a tool for urgent political storytelling.

Private Screening Details:
Date: Friday, 10 July 2026
Time: 6:00pm–9:00pm
Venue: Curzon Soho, London
Event: Premium Private Screening and red-carpet presentation

Official Website:

https://77hrs.com

Media Contact:

Vahid Mahdavi

CVP CHAT LTD / 77 Hours Production

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +44 7735 639680

Website: https://77hrs.com