Monday, May 11, 2026

OPINION: Iran’s Role in Protests Against ‘The Lady of Heaven’ Movie

By Potkin Azarmehr The cinema chain Cineworld canceled the screening of “The Lady of Heaven” after Muslim activists living in the UK protested outside its theaters last week. https://youtu.be/1MaDAW0jRYM Threats by angry Muslim mobs and the absence...

Pulitzer Prize for Drama Goes To Iranian-American Playwright Sanaz Toossi For ‘English’

By Nazanine Nouri The Iranian-American playwright Sanaz Toossi has won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Drama – one of the most prestigious awards in the U.S. -- for her play “English,”  her first-ever production. It’s the...

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...

‘Tips for Survival’: Interview with Filmmaker, Actress Reem Kadem

By Fred Parvaneh Reem Kadem is an American-born Iraqi actress, filmmaker and activist living in Los Angeles.She is best known for playing the lead role in "Nawal the Jewel," inspired by the story of Reyhaneh...

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...

Iranian Director Rasoulof Likely To Attend His Cannes Festival Premiere

By Ahmad Rafat Iranian Director Mohammad Rasoulof, who has left Iran secretly, will reportedly be on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival for the premiere of his latest film, “The Seed of The...

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 –...

Films By Iranian Women Get Top Billing In Europe’s Movie Theaters

By Ahmad Rafat Women directors of Iranian descent are seeing their movies widely showcased across European movie theaters. The directors are Zar Amir Ebrahimi, with “Tatami;” Maryam Keshavarz, the Iranian-American director of “The Persian Version;”...

Iranian Directors Take Part in Berlin Film Festival

By Azadeh Karimi and Ali Eshtiaq Several Iranian directors took part in the 68th Berlin International Film Festival late last month. Unusually, women artists claimed as many as seven of the 11 prizes. The winner of...

The Story of Iran’s Actresses Is Told in New Film; Aghdashloo Attends L.A. Screening

By Fred Parvaneh
Who were the first actresses in the history of Iranian cinema, and who are the female performers of today? A new documentary screened in L.A. last weekend brought answers to those questions - with Hollywood actress Shohreh Aghdashloo present both on screen and off.