Ali Kala’i

Behrouz Moqaddam is a filmmaker, critic, and researcher of cinema. He has been active in the field of Iranian and international cinema for over 40 years. Before the revolution, in Bahman 57 (1974), he received the prestigious literary award of Forough Farrokhzad for his writing and editing of a series of books about cinema and theater. His book, “Iranian Cinema,” was published by the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at New York University in 1987 and was highly acclaimed. He also wrote, produced, and directed the short documentary film “Ardeshir Mohassess and His Cartoons” in 1972, which was screened at the Leipzig Film Festival in 1996. Dr. Behrouz Moqaddam, a graduate of cinema studies from New York University and Columbia University, was a producer of many art programs for Iranian national television before the revolution. He has produced over 15 feature and documentary films

He recently finished his documentary film “The Edge of the Blade: The Legacy of Iranian Women Actors” which is currently being screened in various countries around the world. This latest documentary by Bahman Maghsoudlou is an enlightening piece about women in Iranian cinema before the 1979 revolution. In this documentary, Maghsoudlou interviews 20 female actors who had roles in 463 films before the revolution, resulting in a 2 hour and 7 minute film. “The Edge of the Blade” documents the difficult conditions for women entering Iranian cinema and explores the struggles and challenges faced by the first female actors in Iran. These women were beaten, fired, and even threatened with death, but according to Maghsoudlou, they showed courage, persevered, and laid the foundation for the history of Iranian cinema.

In this interview, we discuss the role of women in Iranian cinema. Moghaddam’s responses are aimed at peace, but they are very thought-provoking; responses that it seems the people of Iran in general and Iranian cinema in particular should seriously consider. These responses come from years of experience and continuous work in connection with this cinema.

Dear Mr. Maqsoudlu, please tell us a little about the film “Labe Tigh” and what inspired you to make it?

When we look at pre-revolution cinema, we can feel the truth that the majority of those who were oppressed and had their rights violated were Iranian women and female actors in cinema and theater. When the revolution happened, many of these individuals, including all the stars in this field, were deprived of acting without having any insurance or retirement benefits. Many were imprisoned or had their properties confiscated. Apart from these cases, in general, a negative view was formed towards them and pre-revolution cinema; all of cinema (except for two or three films like “The Cow”) was rejected, labeled as vulgar, and some of the people involved in this art were given derogatory titles such as “sinner” and “ignorant”. Of course, it is true that there was a negative aspect in commercial cinema before the revolution, where women were used as sexual objects, but this was not the case for all cinema.

This was when I thought to make a film about the history of Iranian cinema from the Constitutional Revolution to the February 1979 Revolution, based on what was expressed by these 21 female actors – who were all the leading actors of our cinema at that time. Women had played roles in nearly 500 out of 1200 films and the goal is to see what contribution they had made to that cinema. In another layer, we see what the position of women’s rights in Iranian cinema was from the beginning; could a woman even act in cinema and theater or was her life always in danger? How did she come and bravely enter this field and take the flag of fighting for her rights? A woman who was accused of everything and harassed from all sides; from family and siblings to the conservative and male-dominated society of Iran. And with all these sufferings, she was still deprived of everything even after the revolution.

What is the most painful story that is expressed on the edge of the sword, related to which actor, which movie and under what circumstances? If possible, could you retell that story for us?

The most painful part of it is related to the first Muslim woman who entered the field of acting. As you know, before and even after the Constitutional Revolution, women were not allowed to act. Of course, non-Muslim women, including Christians and Armenians, were present in the early theaters and cinemas, or there were a few women who dressed in men’s clothing and disguised themselves as men and performed in various theaters, and for a long time no one realized they were women. But in any case, most roles were played by men, and even in traditional, ritual, and religious performances, women had no role.

Afterwards, and following the establishment of women’s schools, on the other hand, the unveiling by Reza Shah, women gradually gained power and took off their chadors and headscarves. These women, with the help of women like “Larta” – who was Armenian – entered theaters and cinemas. This was how Zinat Modabber, in the film “Amir’s Prisoner” and the film “Life’s Storm”, played the first film after World War II. Shohreh Riahi, Zhaleh Alavi, and Fakhri Khouroush were also among the first women to enter the cinema and suffered greatly. Even second-generation actors like Farzaneh Taidi, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Niloufar, and Katayoun, all describe painful stories; that their families opposed them and beat them, or even Mrs. Shohreh Riahi says that her family took up arms to kill her!

But if we want to mention a specific person, that person is Ms. Rouhangiz Saminejad Kermani, who played in the film “Lor Girl”. Ms. Saminejad travels to India for treatment of her leg, gets married there and settles down. At this time, Mr. Sepanta invites her to play in the film “Lor Girl” with his wife, Mr. Damavandi, who was working at the Imperial Studio in Mumbai. This film is the first talking film in Iran and is very important and theoretical. The theory of the film is that a Muslim woman is facing death. I am the first person to discover this theory and in my film, this theory is analyzed frame by frame. Although the film is very successful and has been on screen for months and is selling well, when Saminejad returns to Iran, she is attacked; to the point that she has three bodyguards to protect her. Her life has always been accompanied by insults

As a result, I believe that this woman, being the first one, suffered the most damage; although many others also had the same situation. Each of them, when they first acted in a theater or a movie, were beaten by their father when they returned home at night. These issues have happened as simply as I am telling you!

In which countries and festivals has this film been screened so far and what is the schedule for future screenings?

The making of this 127-minute film began in 2002 and took 15 years to complete; its editing alone took a year and a half and the film was very challenging. It has 5-6 layers that are woven together and carries a social-political burden. It examines the period from the Constitutional Revolution to the 1979 Revolution. It is a biography of these women. It is a history of cinema. It delves into theories of cinema in relation to Muslim women and similar topics.

The Edge of the Knife was first screened in September 2016 at the Montreal Festival in the documentary section. It was then shown at the Middle East Association (MESA) Festival in the United States – which focuses on films about Middle Eastern issues and is held annually by North American universities – in the city of Boston. At the same time, it competed in the 27th Festival of French History in the long documentary section and has since been selected for several other festivals, such as the Swiss Festival. Additionally, it was shown in a special session for 500 people at the Writers Guild of America in Los Angeles. On the 7th and 12th of March, it was shown in Paris, where I was present for one of the sessions and answered questions. On the 11th of March, it was also shown at SOAS University in London and was very successful. In addition to other invitations, we are currently negotiating and planning for its screening in Los Angeles.

As you mentioned, considering the culture prevailing in Iranian society, it has been a difficult path for women to pursue a career in the arts. But in your opinion, what have been the most important challenges or obstacles that women in this field have faced at the beginning and fought against?

The most important challenge is to combat religious prejudice. In our culture, prejudice is one of the most important challenges, especially when it comes to women. Another issue is viewing women as a sexual object rather than a human being.

Women are like men and have equal rights. Unfortunately, throughout history, this false belief has emerged in men that our brains are bigger, or we are stronger and work harder, and women should only have children and take care of household chores. This false belief leads to the claim that men have created history, while this is not the case. Life and society are based on cooperation, collaboration, and joint activities of women and men, and as a result, both should have equal rights.

In most films before the revolution, and especially in those known as “Persian films,” male dominance played an undeniable role. This trend was so prevalent that even in the new wave of Iranian cinema, where women are given more prominence, the honor of men is still often portrayed. Why, during that time, did writers and directors, who were mostly intellectuals, make less effort to present a different image of women?

See, the problem is that many intellectuals are also extremely biased individuals. Of course, I don’t mean that before the revolution and in the 1950s, some directors put women at the center of their films. Bahram Beyzaie is one of them and this is shown in my film. Also, Mr. Hajir Daryoush, who in 1972 played Mrs. Gogoush in the film “Without You” or the film “The Eighth Day of the Week” with Farzaneh Taidi and directed by Hossein Rajaiyan in 1973. But apart from a few films and a few other cases where the main story was about women, in the rest of the films, the man takes the lead and the woman has to play the second or third role. Of course, I mean serious social and artistic films, not the commercial ones of that time that were only after sex and these issues.

We should not forget the fact that most of our intellectuals, including writers and poets, were also biased. Of course, I do not intend to condemn the intellectual class, as they were all raised in that society and were influenced by it. I want to say that when a society has a problem, we should be able to discuss and solve it together. For example, consider the movie “Caesar”; in this movie, a rape occurs and the victim commits suicide. The older brother of the victim, who goes for revenge, is also killed. In the end, Caesar goes and kills in order to avenge the rape and murder of his brother. We do not have to question where the screenplay of this movie may have come from, and its quality is undeniable. But what the movie promotes is taking the law into your own hands. In every country, civil and criminal laws must prevail. When someone is raped, the perpetrator must be arrested and brought to court, and perhaps sentenced to decades

In any case, these are issues and criticisms that must be addressed about these films. I am not trying to show the way, I am only showing the problems. I do not consider myself a reformer or a sociologist. I am a film critic and naturally, a film critic, a cinema graduate, and a filmmaker must know their own society, understand psychology, and read politics. This is my perspective and that is why I find prejudice to be very inhibiting.

“After approximately four decades since the revolution, we are witnessing an increase in the presence of women in the field of cinema. But does this mean that patriarchy in Iranian society has become less prevalent than before?”

Under no circumstances. The reason is that these women have fought and my only words are this. These women have gone in front of the sword so that now we can have women like Leila Hatami, Nikki Karimi, Fatemeh Motamed-Aria, and Taraneh Alidoosti. They bravely and without fear, established themselves and their art in that anti-women society.

That’s why I don’t see masculinity at all and in my opinion, it has become much more diminished.

You mentioned the new generation of Iranian actresses and named some of them. But what happened was that the revolution in Iran caused many of these actresses, whom you described as groundbreaking, to either leave the country or become housewives. One of the consequences of this situation is the lack of passing down experience to the new generation. In light of this, do you believe that if this had not happened, the current level and position of Iranian actresses in cinema would have been higher?

We must face a bitter truth. When the revolution happened, cinemas were closed. Many cinemas were set on fire. We must look into the decline of cinema. If we take a statistical look at the past, we see that with a population of 30 million, we had 485 cinemas, but now with a population of 80 million – which is two and a half times more – we don’t even have half of those cinemas. They are not building new cinemas and the existing ones suffer from fundamental deficiencies in sound, image, and equipment, and they don’t even bother to repair or clean the seats. Even many important cities don’t have cinemas at all. The next issue – as you mentioned – is that when the revolution happened, many female stars were banned from working and even if they wanted to work, they were not allowed to do so openly. Many were arrested and interrogated. The properties of many of these individuals were confiscated and they were humiliated. Some were pursued in

Of course, there were exceptions like Mrs. Shahla Ryahi, Zhaleh Alavi, and Fakhri Khoroosh who stayed after the revolution and were able to continue their artistic activities during this period. The reason was that most of these women had not played a sexual role. For example, as Mrs. Shahla Ryahi’s husband says, she had always played the role of a mother.

The influence of previous actors on post-revolution actors is undeniable. If old female actors had remained in the cinema, they would have been better known. In the meantime, there was a gap, but ultimately the post-revolution generation came to the forefront after witnessing the bravery and struggles of the previous generation. They had seen what great actors were active before the revolution and were working.

Despite the destructive nature of censorship, don’t you think that this issue has unintentionally created a situation in Iranian cinema where traditional families and society provide a more limited space for women? In fact, considering the laws and conditions, screenplays are written in a way that minimizes any confrontation with tradition and religion, and for example, it is never expected for even two people playing the roles of husband and wife in a film to touch each other. The question is, can this situation be seen as a forced success for women?

I do not agree with this issue. If a society is biased, we should not erase the problem and give in to censorship, unless it is considered offensive or sexual. Of course, it should not be misunderstood that I am saying that there should be sex, bed scenes, and such issues in a movie. But how can a woman who is sitting at home with her husband and wants to go to the kitchen to have dinner, for example, have to wear a headscarf and a coat? Isn’t it because there is no one else in that house and they are husband and wife and are allowed to be intimate with each other? It is a very simple matter for a woman to wear comfortable clothes and have her hair loose in such a scene. Or take the movie “Empty House” by Mehdi Sabbaghzadeh; in this movie, a woman’s husband goes to war between Iran and Iraq and after four years of not hearing from him, he returns. Imagine portraying a

In my opinion, the issue of men and women in cinema should be viewed as realistic issues. There is a struggle between prejudice, tradition, and modernity, where both sides must advance together. In fact, one should not triumph over the other. For example, I am not saying that a woman in a film should dress in a way that promotes modernity! Everything should be in its own place and rule. If we look at this issue in this way and can remove prejudice and forced matters from relationships between men and women, and have an equal view of their rights, we have helped progress everything; this is a general rule. We must think about humanity, about a healthy and constructive relationship between men and women, husband and wife, brother and sister.

As a final question, do you think Iranian cinema is currently successful? In any case, one cannot deny the success of Iranian cinema in the world in recent years, and the recent example of this is the success of the film “A Separation” at the Oscars; but can we be satisfied with just this criterion?

In my opinion, Iranian cinema is not successful, it is a failed cinema. The reason for this is the complete control of the cinema by the government; even Russia (Soviet Union) had such a cinema before its collapse. A cinema where you have to submit your screenplay for approval, the director and actors have to be approved, and even after the film is made and ready to be shown, they control it to make sure it doesn’t have any controversial religious or political themes and doesn’t portray society in a negative light. How can such a cinema be successful? Money is given to those who are ideological filmmakers; they go and make films with these bribes that have to convey a certain message. An artist is someone who creates what they think; an artist cannot be bought with money or forced to do something. Unfortunately, the number of independent and artistic filmmakers in our country who are not dependent on anyone is very low and they usually don’t have the resources to make a film.

This cinema is doomed; it is a cinema that becomes more commercial, worse and weaker every day. Don’t look at its Oscars; Farhadi is an exception. Look at the rest of the cinema. Films are rarely screened or selected at international festivals and this has dealt a major blow to Iranian cinema.

Thank you for the time you have given us.