Dariush Mehrjui took the title of his 1973 film from a line by the medieval Persian mystic poet Hafiz: "Because of the cycle of the universe, my heart is bleeding." This bleeding is both literal and figurative: A rural young man, Ali, and his ailing father become a part of in the corrupt and unsanitary ""free market"" blood industry when they come to Tehran's main hospital to seek a cure for the father. The young man becomes involved with a worldly and tolerant nurse (played by a sex symbol and movie star of the Pahlavi era, Fourouzan), and survives by becoming part of the black market working out of the hospital. Mehrjui said that he wanted to show "a human society of vultures, dedicating themselves eagerly to engulfing the lives of others." The screenplay was written by Mehrjui's frequent collaborator, Ghoran Hossein Sai'edi, a doctor who ran a free clinic who was later imprisoned and tortured under the Shah's regime. Though the Government Ministry of Culture funded the film, it was not immediately released in Iran due to the medical establishment's objections. It was awarded the International Critics' prize in Berlin and the Antenne 2 Grand Prize in Paris. It was finally shown in 1977 in Iran, and was instrumental in the foundation of the Blood Transfusion Organization of Iran. It was not seen in the U.S. until the day after the Islamic Revolution took control of the country. Mehrjui was a favorite filmmaker of the Ayatollah, but he struggled with the religious government's strictures. Awards/Festivals: FIPRESCI Prize Cinema of New Forum & OCIC Award Cinema of New Form Berlin International Film Festival 1978; Toronto International Film Festival 1978; Chicago International Film Festival 1978.