Iranian cinema
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Film review: "No Land's Song"One woman's quest to make Iranian women's voices heard
It sounds like a completely mad enterprise: in Iran, a country where women have not been allowed to sing unaccompanied in public in front of men since the 1979 revolution, an Iranian woman sets out to organise a concert of women singing Iranian songs. The documentary "No Land's Song" charts her progress. Richard Marcus saw the film
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Interview with filmmaker Arash T. Riahi"Non-violent revolutions are not a hippie fantasy"
With "Everyday Rebellion", Iranian-born filmmakers Arash and Arman T. Riahi have created a multimedia project that celebrates civil disobedience and connects peaceful forms of protest in Islamic countries and around the globe. Nahid Fallahi spoke to Arash T. Riahi about the film
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Berlinale 2015: Golden Bear for Jafar Panahi's film "Taxi"An incredible feeling of warmth and humanity
Jafar Panahi's "Taxi" truly deserves the Golden Bear it won at the Berlinale. For Jochen Kurten, the film's victory is more than just a political statement because "Taxi" takes the viewer on a journey through the Iranian capital and is full of warmth and humanity. The whole experience moved him deeply
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Film review: "Desert Dancer"Dancing around clichés
The film "Desert Dancer" tells the story of an Iranian dancer in a land where dancing is not permitted. Audiences are once again presented with a biased picture of a complex country. Marian Brehmer watched the film and questions the tendency of filmmakers to portray Iran in an exclusively negative light
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Iranian cinemaShining a light on inner conflicts
"Darband" and "Sar be Mohr" are two new Iranian films that offer profound insights into the lives of young urban Iranians, highlighting their inner conflicts and the turmoil that is tearing many of them apart. Massoud Schirazi went to see both films in Teheran
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Interview with Iranian filmmaker Reza DormishianThe rage of an entire generation on screen
The film "Asabani Nistam!" (I'm not angry!) was the only Iranian entry at this year's Berlinale film festival. On screen, young Iranians vent their anger and frustration at the day-to-day economic hardship and the general hopelessness of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's term as president. Igal Avidan spoke to the director and producer Reza Dormishian
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Mehran Tamadon's documentary "Iranien"A bold experiment
In Mehran Tamadon's new documentary, the director enters into a debate with four loyal supporters of the regime, who better him in every aspect of the discussion. Igal Avidan saw the film at the Berlinale
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Mohammed Rasoulof's ''Manuscripts Don't Burn''Iranian Agents as Killers
The Islamic Republic's intelligence service is unmasked for the first time in a film based on a series of murders of Iranian writers and intellectuals in the late 1990s. Stefan Buchen introduces the new movie by director Mohammed Rasoulof
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The Documentary Film ''In the Bazaar of Sexes''Temporary Marriage in Iran
The phenomenon of temporary marriage in the Islamic Republic of Iran is explored in the documentary In the Bazaar of Sexes. The film's female director, Sudabeh Morterzai, gives viewers a rare insight into a very complex society. Marian Brehmer watched the film
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Documentary Feature ''The Iran Job''US Basketball Player as Cultural Diplomat
In Autumn 2008, film maker Till Schauder accompanied the American basketball player Kevin Sheppard to Iran, where he'd signed a contract to play a season with A.S. Shiraz. Initially, Sheppard tried to keep sport and politics apart, but he soon realised that that wasn't possible in Iran. By Laura Overmeyer
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The Comic World of Marjane SatrapiYearnings for a Lost Homeland
Published 11 years ago, Marjane Satrapi's comic "Persepolis" on her youth in Iran caused a sensation. Millions of people loved the eponymous film based on the comic book. Satrapi has been busy making other films since, and talks to Kathrin Erdmann about homesickness and freedom
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Asghar Farhadi's ''Nader und Simin''Flight from the middle class
Ever since his triumph at the Berlinale Film Festival, Asghar Farhadi has found himself compared to film greats such as Bergman, Antonioni, Cassavetes and Altman. But the main characteristic of Farhadi's films is that they are a seismograph of social crisis in Iran. Amin Farzanefar reports