Gabbeh, a feature written and directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, would seem to have little chance of a Canadian theatrical release.

First off, it’s an Iranian film, and the only Canadian screens non-European (never mind Iranian) films generally see are those of the festival circuit.

Add the fact that none of the director’s previous 16 films have been released in Canada so there’s no previous audience following to bank on.

And when Hussain Amarshi, the one-man show behind Toronto-based Mongrel Media, bought distribution rights, Gabbeh hadn’t been picked up in the u.s., so a release on the heels of an American run couldn’t be factored into a marketing strategy.

Remarkably, Amarshi, celebrating a mere year on the theatrical release scene, has managed to wrangle an opening at Toronto’s Carlton Cinemas Jan. 17.

What prompted Amarshi to take a gamble on this 1996 coproduction from Iran’s Sanayeh Dasti and MK2 Productions in France? His interest was sparked reading the film’s glowing reviews at its 1996 Cannes Film Festival premiere. And risk-taking is Mongrel’s middle name – its raison d’etre is to give foreign films garnering attention on the international festival scene a chance at a Canadian commercial run.

Struck by the layers to the film, Amarshi saw the potential to target a wide variety of audiences. Set among nomadic tribes in Iran who weave gabbeh carpets, better known as Persian rugs, the film is part romance – a young woman is forbidden by her father to marry the man she loves – and part social criticism – Makhmalbaf raises questions about the position of women in Islamic society and criticizes the lack of freedom in Iran. It is also a documentary-style exploration of the ancient art of Persian rug-making.

A bit of luck played into the release strategy. Not long after picking up Canadian rights, Cinematheque Ontario programmers slated a retrospective of Makhmalbaf’s work to begin Jan. 16 and they wanted Gabbeh to open it.

‘It was an incredible coincidence and great timing,’ says Amarshi, who lost no time securing a Toronto screen to piggyback on the Cinematheque promotion. The retrospective helped sway the Carlton.

Mongrel’s track record in releasing obscure foreign films at the Carlton didn’t hurt either. The Silences of the Palace from Tunisian director Moufida Tlatli, the fledgling company’s first release, opened in November 1995 at the art house, ran for eight weeks, then went on to gross over $160,000 in Canada.

Amarshi followed up with two Israeli movies that played for three months at the Carlton (yet lasted only two weeks in New York and l.a. with an American distributor). One of the films, The Summer of Aviya, grossed $50,000 in Toronto alone.

As for the promo campaign, without any Telefilm Canada funding and a limited budget, Amarshi has to play his cards right. ‘I don’t have a set budget, it’s too premature to put a figure on it right now,’ he says, but on previous Toronto releases, Mongrel spent $15,000 to $25,000 on prints and advertising.

But again, great timing and some innovative strategies are making up for cash.

Not long after securing the Carlton, Gabbeh was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. It sold out both nights it played, with around 300 people turned away at each screening. Amarshi was ready, distributing flyers in the lineup to offer the potential audience a second chance.

Publicity stirred up by the Cinematheque for its retrospective is another bonus. Its January program, 20,000 copies of which have been mailed to members and dropped off at libraries and stores, offers some free publicity. As well, Amarshi is running an ad in the program.

Mongrel has Toronto’s Iranian community flooded with flyers and is receiving press from Iranian tv programs and two key weekly papers, Shahrvand and Iran Star, which are also offering ticket giveaways.

Makhmalbaf is not only a star filmmaker in Iran, he is also surrounded by controversy, which Amarshi is banking on to generate a buzz in the Canadian Islamic community. At 17, Makhmalbaf was imprisoned for revolutionary activities and many of his previous films, including Gabbeh, have been banned in Iran.

The political tones and the women’s issue are being promoted among the college and university market and the art house/cafe crowd, who are being lured into seats via 10,000 flyers and 11-by-17 posters dropped off at downtown cafes and cultural centers.

By promoting the Persian rug-making dimension, Gabbeh is also being positioned to target audiences outside the typical rep cinema crowd. Amarshi has worked out a deal with LT Home and Carpets in Toronto, and two Persian carpets, on display at the Carlton since the beginning of January, are being raffled off at the theater.

Gabbeh moves on to a Canada-wide rep circuit, beginning Feb. 7 at Vancouver’s Fifth Avenue Cinemas, where Amarshi is tying the opening with a Pacific Cinematheque retrospective of the director. Houses in Ottawa, Edmonton, Kingston and Waterloo are booked for mid-March. Amarshi has slated home video release for May when the film premiers in New York.