Burnt screens, banned voices: Cinema under siege in Iran

Filmmakers have survived the Islamic Revolution, state restrictions, and exile, but in recent years, a fatigue has crept

Vivekananda Kodandaraman

‘Film industry on deathbed’ read the headline in the Iranian newspaper Kayhan, following the burning down of cinema halls in 1978 during the Iranian Revolution. The history of the Revolution — the term refers to the overthrowing of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979 — cannot be separated from the cinema of Iran. The country is witnessing another uprising now.

Many documentaries show what happened to cinema across the country in the ‘70s. ‘Blames and Flames’ (2012) by Mohammadreza Farzad shows how, in 1978, four cinema halls were burnt down in six days in Tehran (more than 130 cinemas burned down across Iran). The film shows how people took to the streets with handheld cameras recording the protests. The director says, “People were filming each other; they had become each other’s directors.” 

Shahram Mokri’s 2020 film, ‘Careless Crime’ (2020), was made based on one of those theatres — Cinema Rex in Abadan — that were burnt.

The early ‘70s was marked by the Iranian New Wave. In the wake of Islamic revolution of ‘79, New Wave films and pre-revolution films were banned as they did not conform to the strict censorship codes imposed after the Revolution.

‘Tall Shadows of the Wind’ (1979) by Bahman Farmanara was made at the end of the Shah’s rule and is a metaphorical take on power relations. The film shows people erecting a scarecrow for protection and how it multiplies and terrorises them. 

Nothing much has changed since the ’70s, and filmmakers have been vocal about their problems. Asghar Farhadi, known for ‘A Separation’ (2011), the first Iranian film to win an Oscar, says, “I try to avoid writing scenes involving physical contact between men and women because they are impossible to film. However, when it’s a scene about a conflict, like someone falling over or a fight, it can’t be avoided.”

In a scene in ‘About Elly’ (2009), he was asked to remove a fight scene that involved physical contact with a woman, but he urged the censor board to watch it again and brought to their attention that it was a continuous shot and any cuts would ruin the scene. He managed to convince them.

Well-known actor Golshifteh Farahani, who plays a prominent role in the film, has been in exile for many years. She was banned from working in Iranian films after she appeared in a Hollywood film and made a public appearance without wearing a hijab. She is among the mainstream actors vocal about injustices against women in Iran. 

One of the most important films from the New Wave was Parviz Sayyad’s ‘Dead End’ (1977). Iranian cinema historian Hamid Naficy writes: “The title refers not only to the alley in which the heroine lives but also to the dead-end lives of women and others.” Similar themes have been explored by filmmakers over the years. The animated film ‘Persepolis’ (2007), written and directed by Marjane Satrapi, is a coming-of-age story of a young girl against the background of the Iranian Revolution. Jafar Panahi’s ‘The Circle’ (2000) deals with the condition of women in contemporary Iran.

Underground music

The Revolution also affected musicians in the country. ‘No One Knows About Persian Cats’ (2009) talks about Iran’s underground rock scene. The film follows two young musicians, just released from prison, travelling across Tehran as they form a band and prepare to leave Iran. When the Iranian-Kurdish director Bahman Ghobadi, who made the film, was asked about going back to Iran, he said, “Technically I could go back, but I choose not to because there are only two options left: one, a real jail, and two, being imprisoned at home and not being able to get any permits for making films.”

Many prominent filmmakers have faced arrest or gone into exile. Mohsen Makhmalbaf, who lives in Paris, once said, “I have hoisted the Iranian flag 140 times at international film festivals, but I have been attacked and humiliated 140,000 times at home.” Filmmakers who remain in Iran make films under strict censorship. Most of these films are not screened domestically but go on to win critical acclaim at film festivals around the world. Filmmakers are mostly unable to attend these festivals due to travel bans imposed on them. Jafar Panahi attended the Cannes Film Festival in 2025 for the first time in 20 years — a period during which many of his films were screened and discussed there. He won the Palme d’Or for his latest film, ‘It Was Just an Accident’, which explores the trauma of political imprisonment.

Iranian films have always been film festival favourites, but filmmakers in the past and present have said that they would like the people of Iran to see the films they make. Iranian movie screenings attract long queues at the festivals. It is a popular belief that the cinema of Iran will not disappoint. However, there has been a decline in the number of Iranian films being screened at film festivals of late.

Cinephiles are losing interest because of the redundancy in the narratives.  Bahman Ghobadi, in an interview said, “The films that are shown in Iran are the ones the government approves of. Everything should go through the government pipeline. If you see now, Iranian cinema is suffering from redundancy because everybody is forced to take the same route.”