Iranian Documentary Films

Untouched by the temp­ta­tions of the modern world, the Seyed Ghe­l­ish Ishan Sem­i­nary, found­ed 200 years ago, stands as a time­less fortress in the quiet land­scape of Turk­men Sahra. Young … read more

In south­ern Iran, and espe­cial­ly in the ports of Bandar Abbas and Bandar Lengee, an ancient belief has it that the Djinn wind affects people by scat­ter­ing them all over … read more

Caught up in the insane bot­tle­necks of Teheran, a traf­fic cop tries to enforce a pro­hi­bi­tion. Having done this, he then pro­ceeds to demon­strate the flex­i­bil­i­ty of the law and … read more

A fas­ci­nat­ing and inti­mate por­trait of a seem­ing­ly unlike­ly artist. Mokar­rameh, a widow living in rural Iran, dips into her mem­o­ries as well as into colour­ful local leg­ends to create … read more

In a house on a river, a women lives with her mother. From pho­tographs on the wall, her deceased hus­band and father look down on her daily drudgery and toil. … read more

The film describes the ritual of vis­it­ing the shrine of »Imam Reza«, the eighth Shiite Imam, in the holy city of Mashad, and the Bunuel-like behav­iour of the pilgrims.

»Paint, no matter what those around you think«; this is the motto of the main char­ac­ter of the film. His chil­dren are proud of their father, but his mother and … read more

A »dubee« is a wide boat used to trans­port pas­sen­gers between the two banks of the River Karun in south­ern Iran. The river cur­rent is the only source of energy … read more

An item appears in the Iran­ian press about a vil­lage boy who averts a train cat­a­stro­phe by warn­ing the author­i­ties that the track was dam­aged by set­ting fire to his … read more

The old man who is in charge of dis­trib­ut­ing water from the Nimevar Chan­nel to the inhab­i­tants, breaks down »Barema« dam each year to direct water to the river. The … read more

This film is set against the hous­ing prob­lems in Teheran which occurred in the first few years after the rev­o­lu­tion. Mokhtari shows the fierce every­day con­fronta­tions between land­lords and ten­ants … read more

In the late nineties, city and vil­lage coun­cil elec­tions were held in Iran for the first time in 20 years. Under Prime Min­is­ter Khata­mi, decen­tral­iza­tion became a pri­or­i­ty. Among the 330,000 can­di­dates, there were 5,000 women. One of them was Zinat, a nurs­ing aid, who lived in a vil­lage where mar­ried women tra­di­tion­al­ly wear a »boregeh« or face mask. Mar­ried at the age of 13, Zinat soon fought her pri­vate battle against this and other ubiq­ui­tous­ly accept­ed rules that leave women with little power over their own lives. She decid­ed not to wear the »boregeh«, and became a nurse. As the next step in her act of resis­tance, she became a can­di­date in the election. 

With an unas­sum­ing atti­tude, the film crew fol­lows Zinat on elec­tion day. We see her in her house, where daily life con­tin­ues amidst all the excite­ment of this spe­cial day, and during her visits to patients. Zinat, who is sup­port­ed by her family, is shown engaged in a heavy debate with an elder­ly man who thinks it total­ly normal that women become, as he puts it, »domes­ti­cat­ed ani­mals« after they marry, to serve their hus­bands. He tries to con­vince her to hand her can­di­da­cy over to her hus­band. The strength of this quiet young mother of three is not only present in this scene; it is just as vis­i­ble in the rest of the film as well. At the end of the elec­tion day it seems that many voters in the vil­lage have rec­og­nized her poten­tial. After she wins the elec­tion, she prompt­ly goes to work on the junior high school, the women’s sports hall, and the many other civil projects she has in mind. 

Miryam van Lier