Early background

Historically, Iranian cinema was largely an extension of poetry, but after the 1979 revolution, films have become an important cultural expression. Iranian films frequently break the fourth wall, highlighting the inequalities of contemporary Iranian society. 

Iranian Cinema, https://www.vulture.com/

However, due to the increase of the pirated DVD sector in the country, which permits even the most controversial films to be viewed in Iran, many Iranian films are impossible to obtain in the West. Restrictions and the Islamic law’s dislike of Western films have prevented Iranian cinema from being aired on popular streaming services outside of Iran, while imprisonment and travel prohibitions have hindered filmmakers from publicising their work. The Iranian government also seldom submits the work of the most recognised directors to international prize awards. The new age Iranian films have received a wider viewership through online streaming platforms, revolving around themes such as hybrid documentaries, psychological dramas, and violent thrillers, taking the viewer on a trip that addresses issues of dominance of masculinity, women’s rights and equality, rural life, deriving the importance of cinema as a means of resistance.

The Rare Glimpses of Iran through its Cinema

Iran is known for producing thought-provoking and beautiful films, with a strong reputation for generating worldwide recognition at festivals like the Oscars, Cannes, and Berlin. However, Iranian cinema faces political and artistic conflicts due to severe censorship restrictions, forcing women to wear headscarves and avoid intimacy. Despite these constraints, Iranian filmmakers tackle social and cultural issues with inventiveness and originality. Iranian films are humanist social dramas with minimalist plots rich in political undercurrent through allusion. The conflict between religion and society, conformity, and personal desire creates an engrossing viewing experience. Iranian filmmakers use traditional components like poetry and Sufi narrative to communicate emotions and build synergy between characters. They often relate stories from the perspective of a child, exposing character, society, and ourselves through insignificant situations. Iranian filmmakers use metaphor and narrative to navigate social and cultural norms.

A scene from About Elly, https://images.dawn.com/

Since its inception, Iranian cinema has included differently-abled characters in the storyline of the film who are treated with tenderness, respect, love, and devotion. The realism of Iranian cinema is distinguished by the blurring of lines between fiction and non-fiction, the usage of professional and non-professional actors, and the utilisation of nuanced performances. The busy city of Tehran, its countryside, and the magnificent Persian carpets in the characters’ homes offer a fascinating view into a rarely seen country. Recognising Farsi terminology and parallels among traditions provides us with a window into the lives of Iranians and broadens our perspectives on their happiness and hardships.

However, concerns about freedom of speech, patriarchy, and following the political and Islamic line impact Iranian cinema. Despite some great female directors and actresses, women’s voices remain underrepresented. Given these obstacles, Iranian films are hardly escapist, having a slow pace that keeps audiences engaged with them for days.

Important Initiatives for the Development of Iranian Cinema

Iranian film had matured by 1970, with the first graduates from the ‘College of Dramatic Arts’. Progressive film co-ops and organisations emerged, and the country hosted a few film festivals. Young Iranians were very interested in avant-garde film, which led to the establishment of ‘Cinemay-e-Azad’ (Free film), a collective created in the mid-1970s by cinema students and other passionate individuals. This movement grew throughout the country, resulting in the development of their very own national festival. Similar associations were organised by the Ministry of Culture and Art under the name ‘Anjoman-e-Cinemay-e-Javan’ (The Young Cinema Association), with the involvement of National TV.

Lili Jahan Ara formed the ‘Institution for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults,’ which was an important organisation that contributed to the development of Iranian film. With Farah Diba’s help, the institute established its cinema department in 1969, attracting numerous talented filmmakers and animators. The institution gave artists more freedom of expression than anywhere else, launching the careers of notable filmmakers like as Bahram Baizai, Amir Naderi, Abbas Kiarostami, Reza Alamzadeh, and Sohrab Shahid-Sales. The Shah’s confidence in his social and political triumphs led to the production of films with critical societal themes during the 1970s.

The Pioneering Iranian Filmmakers

Abbas Kiarostami, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, and Jafar Panahi are three celebrated Iranian directors who have put Iranian cinema on the global map. ‘Taste of Cherry’, ‘Through the Olive Trees’, and ‘Where is the Friends’ House?’ by Kiarostami are films with rather abstract concepts despite their tremendous lyrical beauty, whilst Makhmalbaf’s films have a deeper philosophical sense, ‘The Silence’, ‘A Moment of Innocence’, and ‘The Cyclist’, are some of the best examples. Panahi’s works are largely social and political criticisms, and he has paid a price for his convictions. ‘Taxi,’ ‘The White Balloon,’ and ‘The Circle’, are some of the well-received films by Panahi.

Kiarostami (Left), Makhmalbaf (Centre) and Panahi (Right), https://images.dawn.com/

Asghar Farhadi, an award-winning Iranian director known for his films, ‘A Separation’ and ‘The Salesman’, develops humanist cinema by generating empathy for all points of view. His screenplays and character developments generate gut-wrenching moral quandaries, making them worth watching again and again. Other recent films, such as ‘Ghasam’ (Swear), make exciting cinema out of banal plots, such as a family’s travel to testify in court regarding their sister’s death, emphasising their growing uncertainties and confusion along the journey.

A still from the movie ‘A Separation’ (2011), https://www.highonfilms.com/

Women of Iranian Cinema

Rakhsan Banietemad, entitled the “First Lady of Iranian Cinema,” has an illustrious record of investigating social and economic concerns in Iran from a female viewpoint. Her films, including ‘Roosari Abi’ and ‘Ghesse-ha’, examine the lives and struggles of Iranian women. Tahmineh Milani, a well-known writer-director, frequently criticises women’s lives in Iran, concentrating on how tradition drives two friends into divergent lives and the challenges of a widow in her quest for custody of her children.

Rakhsan Banietemad (Left) & Tahmineh Milani (Right), Women of Iranian Cinema, https://images.dawn.com/

The ‘New Wave’ Theory 

The phrase “New Wave” was applied to Iranian cinema from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, and it lasted till the twentieth century. This period in film was defined by fresh ideas and interpretations. The new wave was not limited to dealing with Iranian films; it expanded to countries such as Turkey, Lebanon, and Pakistan. Some prominent examples of movies from this era include Michelangelo Antonion’s ‘Blowup’ (1966), Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s ‘Ali: Fear Eats the Soul’ (1974), and Andrei Tarkovsky’s ‘Andrei Rubles’ (1966). The social, political, and cultural elements of new-wave films worked as a catalyst for the movement. The unique aesthetics, themes, and messages of the new wave film demonstrated the director’s authenticity. 

Emmi and Ali are repeatedly framed within compositions, a visual motif used in tandem with sparse, wide shots to express their social alienation, scene from ‘Ali: Fear eats soul’ (1974) by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, https://blogs.iu.edu/

This period also witnessed the development of Western genres like as action films and thrillers, as well as a return of post-revolutionary Iran’s traditional cinema genres such as comedy and melodrama which had previously been prohibited by censors. In contrast with typical Hollywood films of the time, these new wave films were minimalistic, seeking to convey the ‘essence’ of the characters and situations through elements such as long take shots, static camera work, and diegetic soundtracks with little to no soundtracks. The source of the term ‘Iranian New Wave Cinema’ remains unknown, as it is difficult to trace its origins considering that the concept of an ‘Iranian New Wave’ had existed for more than 20 years before the internet became widely accessible. Iran saw a significant cultural revival in cinema, music, and art in the latter part of the 1990s. The new wave in Iranian cinema proved to be a watershed moment, bringing about a tangible shift in Iranian cinema, which had been stagnant for years.

The Resilient Battle with Censorship

The original purpose of the Iranian revolution was to achieve liberty and social equality against the regime that imposed strict laws and censorship, but eventually, the revolution placed a fundamentalist Islamic government at the helm, outlawing everything that they judged outside their code of ‘Sharia’. These exceedingly orthodox rules, with harsh censorship, regulated the social and personal life of the Iranian population. It was required to follow the rules, and deviations from the norms resulted in heavy penalties. This had an impact on people’s daily lives as well as their leisure activities.

Censorship had a stronger impact on films because it was multi-dimensional, forbidding them from conveying political statements and prohibiting them from presenting women in films as they had historically been depicted. The presentation of women on the TV without hijab was banned because it violated Islamic norms. This made depicting scenes of women particularly difficult for directors, as the roles of females allowed in films were contradictory with reality. This meant that under the new Iranian tyranny, half of the population had a minor role, and their issues could not be portrayed in films.

Although in response to the confining censorship Iranian films have succeeded in conveying ideas using ‘Allusion,’ employing prohibited emotions such as ‘love’ to show affection in public, which violates Islamic norms. This distinct technique has given the films a unique flavour but also has limited their stories frequently leading to basic plots. Furthermore, because they were never shown in Iran, many outstanding Iranian films are disseminated illegally or through online downloads.

A frame from the 2007 animated film ‘Persepolis’, https://www.intofilm.org/

The Iranian revolution led to widespread violence and a war with Iraq. The adult animated biographical drama film ‘Persepolis'(2007), based on a girl’s experiences in Iran during the Shah’s rule, vividly depicts the suffering of individuals in conflict zones, highlighting the harsh crimes committed by those seeking power, resulting in a cycle of retribution and counter-revenge. The film was banned in Iran for the explicit and bold depiction of the events of Iranian revolution.

Iranian Cinema in the Present Day

The Iranian box office is dominated by commercial Iranian films, with foreign films not being shown in theatres due to a ban on Western films. However, substantially edited copies of classic and contemporary Hollywood productions are broadcast on state television, while uncensored versions are widely accessible in underground markets. Some critically praised films have achieved box-office success in Iran.

Iranian award-winning cinema differs from locally targeted films, which cater to a completely different audience, primarily under the age of 25. Commercial Iranian cinema is divided into two categories: ‘films concerning the 1979 Iranian Revolution’ and ‘the succeeding Iran-Iraq war’, which contain significant religious and national overtones, and formulaic films featuring prominent actors. With 130 Iranian films seeking distribution each year, cinema owners chose crowd-pleasing comedies, romantic melodramas, and family comedies above other genres.

however, in recent years Western cinema has become immensely popular among Iranian youth, and nearly every current Hollywood picture is accessible on DVD or online. Conservative-controlled state television has also aired more Western films, in part because millions of Iranians have switched to illegal satellite television equipment. There has been no specific passion for Arab movies in the previous years, although Indian cinema is rather popular among the Iranian public. Each year, just a few Hollywood films are released in Iranian theatres.

Conclusion 

Following the 1979 revolution, the concept of Iranian film underwent a significant transformation. The directors took a more realistic and metaphorical approach, elevating Iranian cinema to a higher degree of recognition and respect on a worldwide scale. Even when working within strict censorship laws, Iranian films do not shy away from exploring sensitive social and cultural issues, representing the cultural resilience and social reflection of the country. Between the mid-1960s to the end of the twentieth century, the ‘New Wave’ in Iranian cinema was significantly responsible for aesthetic innovation. It is widely considered to be a golden period in contemporary Iranian cinema, during which Iranian movies dominated the Middle Eastern film industry. Several producers, directors, and actors made films that are now regarded as global cinematic masterpieces from this time period. Many international forums have lauded post-revolutionary Iranian movies in recent years. The Iranian cinema has drawn international audiences because of its unique style, subject matter, authors, concept of nationhood, and embodiment of culture, offering a look into the country’s cinematic legacy and social justice. The Iranian cinema has been consistent in setting the visual culture of Iran reflecting native traditions, social resilience, and artistic innovation.

References 

Journal Articles

• Majid Sarsangi & Hamed Soleimanzadeh, January 2018, “Iranian Cinema: Pre-revolution & Post revolution”, International Journal of Advanced Research, Vol. 6, Issue. 1, p.p. 641 – 646, DOI: 10.21474/IJAR01/6268, ISSN: 2320-5407

Online Articles:

• UKEssays, November 2018, “Film Censorship and the Iranian Revolution”, UKessay.com
• Shahin Parhami, November 1999, “Iranian Cinema: Before the revolution”, Volume 3, Issue 6, Cinema as pleasure principle, Offscreen

Websites:

• “What is Iranian New Wave Cinema? Essential guide to the film movement”, Film History & Theory, Filmmaking Lifestyle