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The Center for Middle Eastern Studies is pleased to present
Women in Iran: An Evening of Films by Rakhshan Banietemad
with
Naghmeh Sohrabi
Charles (Corky) Goodman Professor of Middle East History and the Director for Research at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University, and
Ramyar Rossoukh
Assistant Director for Research at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University
Please join CMES as we screen two documentaries by Iranian filmmaker Rakhshan Banietemad: Our Times (2002) and We Are Half of Iran's Population (2009).
Rakhshan Banietemad is an internationally and critically acclaimed Iranian film director and screenwriter who is widely considered a premier female director; her films have been praised at international festivals as well as being popular with Iranian critics and audiences. Her title as "First Lady of Iranian Cinema" is not only a reference to her prominence as a filmmaker, but also connotes her social role of merging politics and family in her work. Banietemad excels in representing contemporary situations, often in relation to the changing roles of women but also covering a broad spectrum of social issues, including war, poverty, domestic abuse, and class mobility.
In the early stages of her career, documentaries were her dominant form of filmmaking. Even after she gained international esteem for her dramatic features, she continued to make documentaries with tremendous success. Our Times, for example, was the first documentary ever to be released in movie theaters in Iran. It was broadcast on the Franco-German television network ARTE and shown at prestigious festivals such as the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam and the Sundance Film Festival.
Pizza and refreshments will be served.
Contact: Liz Flanagan