A Film by Nader Takmil Homayoun
Today Iranian cinema is one of the most highly regarded national cinemas in the world, regularly winning festival awards and critical acclaim for films which combine remarkable artistry and social relevance. IRAN: A CINEMATOGRAPHIC REVOLUTION traces the development of this film industry, which has always been closely intertwined with the country's tumultuous political history, from the decades-long reign of Reza Shah Pahlevi and his son, the rise of Khomeini and the birth of the Islamic Republic, the seizure by militants of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, and the devastating war with Iraq.

Very much in the tradition of Siegried Kracauer's classic historical study, From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological Study of the German Film, IRAN: A CINEMATOGRAPHIC REVOLUTION chronicles how Iranian films reflected contemporaneous society and often presaged social change. It shows how mainstream commercial cinema served as a propaganda tool for both the monarchy and the fundamentalist religious regime, recounts the sporadic efforts of some filmmakers to reveal grimmer social realties, and the struggles against censorship and traditional cinematic formulas by such pioneers as Bahram Beyzai,  Sohrab Shahid Saless and Parviz Kimiavi and pre- and post-Islamic revolutionary 'new wave' filmmakers such as Amir Naderi, Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, Dariush Mehrjui, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Jafar Panahi, Bahman Ghobadi and Abbas Kiarostami.
The documentary explores this history through a compelling blend of archival footage, excerpts from representative and landmark Iranian films, and interviews with Iranian filmmakers, film critics, film historians, and government and film industry executives. In the process, IRAN: A CINEMATOGRAPHIC REVOLUTION reveals the changing social functions of Iranian cinema and the artistic struggle of its filmmakers.

"Insightful... a celebration of a cinema that fully deserves acclaim."—Johannes Bockwoldt, Afterimage
"Dazzling! Every country's cinema deserves a history as good as this."—Thom Powers, Toronto International Film Festival

"Provides non-Iranians with precious access to a broad range of Iranian films... including clips of films nearly impossible to see outside the country...a crisp, intelligent, and enjoyable documentary."—Cineaste

"Puts forth a broad perspective on the development of cinema in Iran... features interviews with well-known and historically significant filmmakers."—Educational Media Reviews Online

*** (Three stars) "This insightful documentary would be useful in Middle Eastern and cinema studies collections. Recommended."—Video Librarian

"A glowing and precise appraisal... Intelligent and well-researched."—Variety

"Includes a wealth of information about Iranian film, and presents a tantalizing collection of materials demonstrating the variety and breadth of the country's cinematic history... an excellent introduction to Iranian cinema and the historical and political context from which it springs." —Sarah Boslaugh, Scope

"Remarkable... Drawing upon a wide catalogue of films and newsreel footage, the documentary offers an insight into the two revolutions-political and artistic-and their joint battle to produce, and consequently control, the national imago." —Lindsey Hair, Film & History

Photo of Sohrab Shahid-Saless

Image via Wikipedia

In the summer of 2006, as the Iranian-backed Hezbollah fought off Israelis in Lebanon and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faced down President George Bush at the United Nations, a bus full of Iranian pilgrims left Tehran on a journey to the holy city of Karbala, deep inside a shattered Iraq.

In a documentary that is without precedent on American television, Wide Angle follows this intense journey into the heartlands of Shia Islam, revealing how two ancient crimes - the murder of Muhammad's grandson and the disappearance of a six-year-old imam - became the founding legends of Shiism and increasingly dominate events and attitudes in the Middle East today.
Under Saddam Hussein's rule, it was impossible for Iranians to make the pilgrimage to Karbala. Since the dictator's overthrow, Shia Muslims, who dominate Iran and are the majority in Iraq, can now make their pilgrimage - and are doing so in increasing numbers. The journey is dangerous, to say the least. Sunni and Shia Muslims in Iraq are carrying out acts of horrific violence against one another, U.S. troops are battling insurgents, IEDs explode on roadsides on a regular basis and Shia shrines - and Shia pilgrims - have become targets of Iraqi Sunni attacks. In fact, just as this group of pilgrims sets out from Tehran, reports come in of 14 new murders on the road to Karbala.
In scenes that have never been captured on screen before, the busload of pilgrims joins the steady stream of Iranians flooding into the holy cities in Iraq. They are afraid, and their families have urged them not to go, but their faith is stronger than their fears. Indeed, for them, to die on pilgrimage to Karbala is a guarantee of holy martyrdom and, thus, an entry to paradise.
As the bus rolls through the desert, Pilgrimage To Karbala hears from members of Iran's hard-line Revolutionary Guards, influential traders from the great bazaars of Tehran and athletes from a traditional Iranian sports club, the House of Strength, whose extreme exercise regime is driven by the stories and ancient poetry of Iran.
Despite their religious fervor, these pilgrims, as the documentary reveals, are ordinary men, women and children. During their five-day odyssey, they tease each other, make time to watch their favorite soap opera and talk about their fears of the Americans in Iraq.
As they travel along the road through the barren landscape in the desert heat, it becomes clear that this is more than a trip through geographic space. It is also a journey through time and memory. As the bus passes into Iraq, the former soldiers remember their days fighting in the Iran-Iraq war of the mid-1980s. For some, the guilt of not having died with their comrades is overwhelming.
The pilgrimage is also symbolic of a journey that many Shia see as a continuing struggle for Muslims in the world. Interweaving the stories of these pilgrims with the tales of Muhammad's grandson's martyrdom and the disappearing imam, Pilgrimage To Karbala powerfully illustrates how these legends influenced the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the Iran-Iraq war, the political and religious philosophy of President Ahmadinejad, as well as today's vicious power struggles between Shia and Sunni in Iraq and the growing fissure between Islam and the West.

Photo: Feb. 27, 2008 - Shi'a and Sunni Muslims make their way to the Imam Husayn Shrine in Karbala, Iraq, Feb. 27, 2008, during their pilgrimage in observance of the Arba'een and Ashura holidays. Only since the removal of Saddam Hussein have Iraqis been able to take part in the pilgrimage.

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