Iranian American actor Anthony Azizi has spoken about the increasing persecution of Iran's Baha'i minority, citing the ongoing Middle East conflict as a reason for this. He stars in Cast Aside the Clouds, an Iran-set romance thriller about a young Bahá'i woman who navigates her faith and is arrested, imprisoned and tortured for being a Baha’i. The film, directed by Mary Darling, Bre Vader and Felicia Sobhani, will have a U.S. premiere on May 18 at Cinema Village in New York City, followed by a Los Angeles premiere on June 4 at Lumiere Music Hall. Azizyi was born into a family where relatives lost jobs, were jailed, had property confiscated, and two defiant uncles were executed after refusing to renounce their Baha'.