Elahe Esmaili
, 2023
, 35 min
In the religious Iranian city of Qom, there are many restrictions imposed on women in the name of ‘sexual safety’ – from the mandatory hijab to forced gender separation. Hossein grew up in this misogynistic and patriarchal context, but as a young boy he found himself subject to sexual assault by older men. Keeping a…
Rahmaneh Rabani, Bahman Kiarostami
, 2022
, 90 min
Rahmaneh Rabani is a 37-year-old Iranian woman, born and raised in an observant Muslim household. After the death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iranian authorities in the autumn of 2022, mass protests ignited one of the largest women’s rights movements in recent Iranian history. With the protests raging outside of her window, Rabani…
Nazanin Noroozi
, 6 min
This Bitter Earth is an experimental stop-motion film centered around found footage and archival images from viral news stories juxtaposed with hand painted Super 8 family movie frames. The film encompasses four main image series reconsidered and revisited in multiple: the 2020 downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 by the Iranian government; the devastating…
Maaman Rezaee
, 2015
Minuet for a Disappearance is an experiment to give life to memories of a political prisoner in Iran through drawings on 16mm films and documenting the objects sent to his daughter from the prison.
, 17 min
A Feast in a Mirror explores the enduring sense of otherness experienced by women, both citizens and foreigners, in any country, be it East or West. Years of oppression and the denial of basic rights in Iran evoke rage and shame, yet paradoxically give rise to courage and power. As an Iranian woman, my character embodies…
Jocelyne Saab, Rafik Boustani
, 1980
, 52 min
A documentary on the Iranian revolution from the point of view of Lebanese filmmakers (Jocelyne Saab with Rafic Boustani). In an attempt to understand what this wave of change will mean for the rest of the region, they travel from Tehran to Isfahan, Shiraz, Qom and to the Afghan border. Camera in hand, they take…
Suliman Elnour
, 1978
, 19 min
Suliman Elnour’s graduation film Wa Lakin Alardh Tadur (It Still Rotates) depicts everyday life in a school in South Yemen. A number of these schools were created by the socialist regime specifically for the children of bedouin communities where they learned a variety of skills and subjects including music and critical thinking. The film also…
Eltayeb Mahdi
, 85 min
Synopsis In December 2018, the Sudanese people took to the streets in wide protests and demonstrations against the oppressive al-Bashir regime. On April 6th 2019, the protestors staged a sit-in in front of the Sudanese army headquarters in Khartoum that was met with excessive force by militarized troops. Days later, on April 11, 2019, al-Bashir…
, 1977
Al Dhareeh (The Tomb), is Eltayeb Mahdi’s graduation project from the High Institute of Cinema in Cairo. It tells the story of an imposter who claims the power to heal people. Based on real events that occurred along the Nile river in Sudan during the 1960s, the film reflects the popularity of religious imposters in…
Ibrahim Shaddad
, 1981
, 14 min
Jamal (A Camel) is a report from the daily life of a camel, most of which plays out in a dreary, small room – a sesame mill. An account of the resemblances between the camel and the human being, shot at a time when discussing human beings was harder than talking about animals.
