The ongoing revolution in Iran has been on the screens for a long time. a soft power a powerful tool that allows female directors and actresses to make their voices heard.
Creating cinema in Iran is an obstacle in three possible ways. become a smart strategist to find your voice without offending the regime; or attack the enemy face to face, risking his freedom. It is this last option that Jafar Panahi chose, who is currently serving a six-year prison sentence in his country after his first conviction in 2010. The question is his dissident films made under the beards of the ayatollahs.
In without bears Currently in cinemas, the 62-year-old film director introduces himself in his own role. From his hideout in an Iranian village, he joins a video conferencing app to film his new film, set in Turkey. His actress Mina Kavani remembers. “Jafar’s passion and endurance carried us through, but the situation fueled my anger. I’m stuck like Jafar, but out of the country.” The actress was indeed forced into permanent exile in 2015 after filming Red Rose, of his compatriot Sepide Farsi, in Greece.
In the video, Golshifteh Farahani sings the anthem of the Iranian revolution with Coldplay
Exile for freedom
Exile for Iranian women in cinema has long been necessary to avoid prison or beatings. By participating in critical films, showing their bodies or hair on screen or in advertisements (as was the case with Golshifteh Farahani), they broke the rules.
As women, we are not given the freedom to control our bodies and our lives.
Mina Kavani, Franco-Iranian actress
“I received the status of a political refugee after that Red Rose», says Mina Cavani, now a naturalized French. “The film contained the epitome of what the Islamic Republic condemns: an extramarital love story between a young revolutionary and an older man, raw dialogue, reflections on the government in Iran, and scenes of ‘love’. Some Iranian actors have been cast abroad, but the response is often less for the men. It is more difficult for a woman to make a film. we are not given the freedom to manage our bodies and our lives,” explains the actress who, despite being uprooted, has never regretted her choice.
“In time Red Rose, I was in the same state of mind as all those who are protesting in the streets of Tehran today. Angry, thirsty for freedom. Very young, I knew anyway that one day I would have to choose between Iran and France in my career. Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Cannes Commentary Award 2022 Nights of Mashhad he was also reluctantly forced to flee after being sentenced to ninety-nine lashes in absentia. An intimate video of her and her boyfriend was stolen and posted online.
When Islamic law intervenes in cinema
As for the directors, the same observation. Expelled from university at the age of 17 to hide a dissident, Sepide Farsi moved to France in 1984. However, from 1997 to 2009, he shot 7 films in Iran. Under the terms.
Indeed, before filming on Persian soil, any filmmaker must submit his script for permission. “I didn’t lie, but I didn’t give details. I was circling the truth, I was vacillating,” explains the filmmaker, who also talks about the difficulties of casting or constructing a production when Islamic law forbids an unmarried man and woman from touching each other. Breaking the rules is unthinkable. “There’s always an informant on the set watching you,” explains the director, who found the parade to evade surveillance in 2009.
In the video, the Iranian women restart the TikTok GRWM trend before going on the show
Images, combat weapons
Tehran without permission So filmed entirely on the phone, in secret. “It allowed me to be on the move and close to people, but also relatively inconspicuous,” says Sepideh Farsi. Iranians have an average of 1.5 phones per person and are constantly filming with their family and friends, like everywhere else… It’s physically impossible to monitor everyone.” The price to pay for this crime to the authorities. Exile again. “I want to create freely. You should be able to look in the mirror. I tried to film in Iran so that the Iranian audience could see my films. But in the end, everyone was censored, including those who had permission to film. It is pointless to try to fulfill the requirements of a theocratic and dictatorial regime.”
Iranian women use images as weapons of war
Nathalie Coste-Cerdan, CEO of La Fémis
According to the director, the image of cinema and actresses has improved a lot in Iran. However, the younger generation still chooses to go abroad on a regular basis. For the past five years, two or three non-European students have joined La Fémis each year. Among them are already two Iranian women. “The challenge for them is to get a platform for Iranian women’s voices to be heard in a cinema that is free of any barriers,” explains Natalie Coste-Serdan, general manager of the prestigious film school. “They are very dedicated and use images as a weapon of war. One of our alumni, Faezeh Karimpour, is now archiving footage of the uprising for his next film.
A message of hope
These testimonies Faeze also transmits them on his social networks, an anti-authority that has greatly contributed to the democratization of images and the circulation of information in the country. “Generation Z was born with new technologies, learned and is braver than us, Marjane Satrapi observes. Everyone becomes witnesses of reality, icon bearers.” Exiled after his comic book release Persepolis In 2000, then from the film of the same name (2007), the artist and the director knew the risks. But making her voice heard, breaking down prejudices and opening a window on the reality of her country was a necessity.
I understood that cinema is the most beautiful vehicle for creating empathy
Marjane Satrapi, artist and director
“For many, Iran was Never without my daughter. dirty people, cockroaches in rice, chadors and bearded men. Sensationalism. Persepolis I recovered my truth, which, of course, is not absolute, but represents a point of view from the inside. The silence not only made me an accomplice, but also made me realize that it was the cinema soft power there is the most beautiful machine for creating compassion,” explains the one who, after drawing on his roots. Chicken with prunes, thinks it has covered the issue. At least for now. “Talking about something else is another form of rebellion and emancipation. A message of hope. He said: “I am not condemned to carry the burden of Iran’s history, which, if it is my part, should not determine everything.”
Today, in a new revolution initiated by women but supported by men, all generations combined, some artists still refuse to be exiled. actress of customer, Tarane Alidosti recently posted a message of support on Instagram: Bareheaded. he says he will stay in Iran. Whatever it costs.
Source: Le Figaro
