Sept. 24, 2015, was a tragic day. More than 700 people were killed in a stampede during the annual hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. The disaster occurred on the first day of Eid al-Adha, when pilgrims perform the ritual known as "stoning the devil" in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca. In Iran, the event is remembered as the “Mina tragedy,” given that some 500 Iranian pilgrims lost their lives. Now, nearly one year later, an Iranian filmmaker is preparing to unveil “September 24”; probably the first cinematic depiction of the tragedy.

One of the film’s main characters is Mohsen Haji Hassani Kargar, an Iranian “qari” (reciter of the Quran) who was killed in the disaster. The 27-year-old, who was known as Haji Hassani, had won first prize at the 57th International Quran Competition in Malaysia in June 2015 and was performing the hajj with a delegation of Quran reciters. “September 24” revolves mostly around the story of Haji Hassani’s life — and death. It has already stirred controversy, with one Saudi website saying that it could become a “new source of tension in Tehran-Riyadh relations.”

Maryam Ebrahimi, the director and producer of the film, told Al-Monitor, “When Iran’s leader said the Mina tragedy must not be forgotten, I thought the language of art could help do this and keep the memory [of the stampede] alive. At the time I was busy with another film about a martyr, who had nothing to do with the Mina [tragedy]. So I put that project aside and decided to make this film instead, with my own personal budget. The Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization of Iran as well as other relevant organizations only offered spiritual support. No financial aid was provided.”

Ebrahimi, who is fascinated with recitations of the Quran and has been memorizing its verses for the past two years, told Al-Monitor, “This is why Mohsen Haji Hassani’s character was interesting to me, since he was also a reciter. Of course, there were — and are — a lot of sensitivities about this film. These same sensitivities led to the writing of eight different screenplays for the movie.”