The Houman Seyedi-directed Iranian picture "World War III" earned the Golden Tulip International Competition Award at the 42nd Istanbul Film Festival in Turkey. The festival took place between April 7-18, 2023.

On Tuesday, April 18, at Soho House Istanbul, the 42nd Istanbul Film Festival's awards ceremony was held. The festival featured national and international contests for 59 short and feature films.

Mohsen Tanabandeh, Mahsa Hejazi, Neda Jebraeili, and Navid Nosrati all appear in the movie. It was chosen as Iran's submission for the 95th Academy Awards' Best International Feature Film category.

At the 79th Venice International Film Festival, "World War III" competed for the Orizzonti Award and won both the Orizzonti Award for Best Actor and the Orizzonti Award for Best Film.

According to the "World War III" story synopsis, Shakib (Mohsen Tanabandeh) is a day worker who is homeless after losing his wife and son in an earthquake in the past. He has been seeing Ladan (Mahsa Hejazi), a deaf and mute prostitute, for the past couple of years. He discovers that the building site where he works is the backdrop for a movie depicting the crimes committed by Hitler during World War II.

He receives a house and a once-in-a-lifetime chance, despite all odds. Ladan visits his place of employment to seek assistance and a location after learning about his movie part and the house. Shakib's attempt to conceal her fails, endangering his opportunity to make it big.