Parole is the debut feature-length film of Mahdi Nourbakhsh. It is about a young man released on parole after 9 years. He only has 48 hours to take revenge on his old colleague Sharif, find his fiancé and leave the country.

Nourbakhsh has worked as an assistant director and production manager in feature film The Brave and the Thief. He has also directed and produced a number of documentary, TV specials, short films and music videos.

The notion of revenge has been done to death by several other filmmakers, yet Nourbakhsh's standpoint is totally distinct -- it is defiant, unconventional and far from any pretence.

The hand-held digital camera travels to many parts of the city as the story unfolds, creating a documentary sense for the entire composition. Add the holding of information from the audience, superb acting, plus a modern look and style in structure and narration, and you have got a movie at hand that is entirely successful in creating empathy in its detached audiences.

Another notable peculiarity of the movie is that it is shot in black and white. Perhaps there might be different ideas about such style in filmmaking, yet the director himself is totally convinced that his movie had to have a bitter look, as the presence of color would have suppressed its intended bleak mood. Another advantage of using black and white cinematography is that, perhaps, it prevents from falling into the trap of cliched methods and styles, particularly in telling such stories.

Parole was the only participant in the competition section of Fajr Film Festival that was totally shot on digital video.