Over its 44-year history, the Fajr Film Festival has gone through different periods which, based on the documented record of this state-run festival, I divide into three main eras: 1) the era of enmity and camaraderie; 2) the era of misery; 3) the era of disgrace. The first era began in February 1983 (Bahman 1361). […]...

A few days of leave granted to me for unspecified reasons (without a personal request) offered me the chance to step out of Evin Prison and witness the new face of Tehran after approximately a year and a few months. This new face did not pertain to the city’s infrastructure or urban landscape; Tehran had […]...

Iranian cinema has gone through a turbulent path from its birth until now: from Mirza Ibrahim Khan Akasbashi and Khan Baba Mo’tazeddi, who filmed the first movies in this country, to Ebrahim Golestan, who made the first silent film in Iranian cinema, to the present time where everything, including film screenings, has become digital and […]...