Monday, April 27, 2026

Rave Parties in the Iranian Desert Are Subject of New Documentary

By Julie Ershadi
In the Iranian poetic tradition, the desert is the symbol of a soul-searching spiritual journey, or a refuge from the eyes of the world. In Raving Iran, filmmaker Susanne Regina Meures’ 2016 documentary, the desert is the hiding place for a pair of modern revelers keen to express themselves away from the government’s reach.

Iranians Win Awards at Venice Film Festival; Keep Silent on Afkari Execution

By Ahmad Rafat Iranian films were among the winners of the 77th International Venice Film Festival, which ran from 2 to Sept. 12 -- and was the first international film festival to be held with...
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Iranian-American Filmmaker Wins Oscar for Menstruation Movie

By Tara Biglari Filmmaker Rayka Zehtabchi made history this week as the first Iranian-American ever to win an Oscar. Her film ‘Period. End of Sentence’ — about the stigma around menstruation in parts of the...
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Iranian-Australian Actor Mojean Aria Wins Heath Ledger Award

By Fred Parvaneh In early June, the young Iranian-Australian actor Mojean (pronounced Moe-zhan) Aria was announced as the recipient of the 2017 "Heath Ledger Scholarship". The prestigious award, created by the non-profit organization Australians in Film,...

Venice Festival May Screen Jafar Panahi’s Documentary on Iran Flood Victims

A documentary film by the award-winning Iranian director Jafar Panahi and the veteran actress Pouri Banayi on the plight of people in the southern flood-stricken provinces of Khuzestan and Lorestan could be screened at...
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Iranian Revolution Video Game Takes History to a Global Audience

By Julie Ershadi
For many Iranian emigres, the Islamic Revolution of 1979 is an event that they would rather put behind them. The memories can be much too painful. Yet for Navid Khonsari, who was born in Canada and raised in Iran until the Revolution, the only way out of the trauma is to work through it.

At Cannes Film Festival, Directors Panahi, Roustayi Are Contenders for Palme d’Or

By Nazanine Nouri The acclaimed Iranian filmmakers Jafar Panahi and Saeed Roustayi are contenders for the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, the world’s most important cinematic competition. The prize, known as the Palme...

Hollywood Filmmaker Ana Lily Amirpour Discusses Her New Movie, Iranian Roots

By Laura van Straaten Hours before opening weekend for her much-anticipated movie “The Bad Batch,” the Iranian-American screenwriter and director Ana Lily Amirpour sat down for an interview with Kayhan Life to discuss her quick rise...

Pulitzer Winner Sanaz Toossi’s New Play, Set in Karaj Living Room, Gets UK Premiere 

By Firouzeh Nabavi The Iranian-American playwright Sanaz Toossi – who won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama last year for her play “English,” about a class of English language students in Karaj, west of Tehran –...

Video Game Revisits 1953 Overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh

By Julie Ershadi Kurosh ValaNejad was born in Iran in 1966 to an Iranian father and an American mother. He and his older brother Cyrus grew up there until shortly before the 1979 Revolution, when...