Of Wool and Diesel 2026

Directed by Rouzbeh Akhbari

Beginning in the pastoral landscapes of Cabo Espiche, Portugal and moving through the colonial archives of the Lisbon Geographical Society, this film traces a circuit of smuggled sheep and forgotten love letters as way of looking into the informal routes that connect the Atlantic, Caspian and the Strait of Hormuz. The film re-animates the archives of smuggling in the Persian Gulf and offers a critical contemplation on the history and intimacy of the strait of Hormuz as a seascape that is continually shaped by imperial desires, sanctions and risk of passage.