New Iranian Cinema

New Iranian Cinema
Name	New Iranian Cinema
Years active	1969–present
Country	Iran
Notable figures	Abbas Kiarostami, Dariush Mehrjui, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Jafar Panahi, Asghar Farhadi
Notable works	The Cow, Close-Up, Taste of Cherry, A Separation, Where Is the Friend's House?

New Iranian Cinema is a film movement originating in Iran during the late 1960s that gained international prominence through festivals such as the Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and Berlin International Film Festival. Rooted in the works of filmmakers connected to institutions like the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults and the Iranian New Wave, it intersects with writers, poets, and theater practitioners from Tehran to Isfahan. The movement's global circulation was facilitated by distributors, critics, and awards including the Palme d'Or, Golden Lion, and Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

History and Origins

The origins trace to precursors such as Dariush Mehrjui's adaptation of Gholam-Hossein Sa'edi's novella leading to The Cow, which engaged producers, studios, and censorship boards under the late Pahlavi dynasty. Early networks included the Filmfarsi industry, the Cairo International Film Festival circuit, and cultural policies influenced by ministers like Farrokhroo Parsa. Post-1979, the Iranian Revolution reshaped funding mechanisms within institutions like the Farabi Cinema Foundation and intersected with filmmakers associated with the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults and playwrights such as Bahram Beyzai. Filmmakers navigated ministries, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, and film schools while engaging in co-productions with companies in France, Italy, and Germany.

Characteristics and Themes

Stylistically, practitioners such as Abbas Kiarostami, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, and Jafar Panahi favored non-professional actors, location shooting in rural Iran and Tehran, and long takes reminiscent of movements like Italian Neorealism and the French New Wave. Narratives often adapt texts by Sadegh Hedayat, Forough Farrokhzad, and Jalal Al-e-Ahmad or respond to social debates around figures like Ruhollah Khomeini and institutions such as the Assembly of Experts. Themes include childhood and pedagogy explored through collaborations with the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, gender and family as in works by Asghar Farhadi and Tahmineh Milani, and ethical dilemmas referencing jurists and cultural critics like Ali Shariati. Formal experiments invoke directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Bresson, and Andrei Tarkovsky while attending to Iranian motifs like caravanserais, bazaars, and the Caspian coastline.

Key Figures and Filmmakers

Foundational figures include Dariush Mehrjui, Masoud Kimiai, Bahram Beyzai, and Nasser Taghvai, whose early films established aesthetic models adopted by a younger generation including Abbas Kiarostami, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Jafar Panahi, and Majid Majidi. Contemporary auteurs include Asghar Farhadi, Mani Haghighi, Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, and Rafi Pitts, while documentarists and experimental artists such as Maziar Bahari, Kiarash Anvari, and Babak Payami expanded forms. Producers and institutions like the Farabi Cinema Foundation, distributors at Goodfellas Film, and festival programmers at Festival des Trois Continents and Sundance Film Festival have shaped careers alongside critics from Cahiers du Cinéma and curators at the Museum of Modern Art.

Notable Films and Movements

Canonical films include The Cow, Where Is the Friend's House?, Close-Up, Taste of Cherry, The White Balloon, A Separation, and The Circle, which circulated at Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and Toronto International Film Festival. Movements and groups include the Iranian New Wave, the post-revolutionary realist strand associated with the Farabi Cinema Foundation, and diasporic waves linked to émigré figures working in France, United Kingdom, and United States. Crossovers with regional cinemas and festivals such as the Fajr International Film Festival, Istanbul Film Festival, and Cairo Film Festival contributed to programming trends and retrospective exhibitions at institutions like the British Film Institute.

International Reception and Influence

International critics, distributors, and award bodies including the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Festival de Cannes, and curators at the Tate Modern have foregrounded directors such as Abbas Kiarostami and Asghar Farhadi in global auteur debates. Film education programs at Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Columbia University School of the Arts, and the National Film and Television School have incorporated Iranian films into curricula alongside works by Akira Kurosawa and Ingmar Bergman. Co-productions with companies in France, Germany, and Italy enabled circulation, while retrospectives at the Museum of Modern Art and the British Film Institute influenced younger filmmakers in Turkey, Lebanon, and India.

Censorship, Politics, and Production Context

Filmmakers negotiated approval from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and oversight by bodies such as the Iranian House of Cinema while dealing with legal cases involving figures like Jafar Panahi and Mohsen Makhmalbaf. Sanctions imposed by governments such as the United States and policies from the United Nations impacted equipment imports, co-productions, and festival travel, intersecting with funding from institutions like the Farabi Cinema Foundation and private producers in Tehran. Political controversies around screening bans at the Fajr International Film Festival, court rulings, and censorship directives shaped modes of production, prompting many directors to seek post-production, distribution, and festival entry through offices in Paris, London, and Los Angeles.

Category:Film movements Category:Iranian cinema