In 1953, a military coup led by British MI6 backed by the CIA overthrew Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammad Mossadegh. His crime: nationalizing the country’s oil. The truth behind that original regime change for oil was buried for decades.

Iranian director Taghi Amirani spent ten years uncovering what really happened. Working with legendary editor Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now) and a gripping performance by Ralph Fiennes, the film unfolds like a John le Carré spy thriller — except every word is true. “Coup 53 is stranger than fiction and a terrifying reminder that the past never goes away.” Charlotte O’Sullivan, London Evening Standard