Nacim Pak-Shiraz

Iranian Cinema Today: An Ode to the Past and New Directions in the Future?
November 3, 2017

From its early days, cinema was a potent medium in constructing images of nations, religions and people. Though a Western medium, it was soon adopted by other nations that did not simply imitate Western films but created a language of their own, which in turn was influenced by their histories, arts and cultures.

Nacim Pak-Shiraz explores the continuities and discontinuities of Iranian cinema by examining the social context and formal structures of Iranian films produced in the last decade vis-à-vis their predecessors. In this way, she studies the impact of social changes within Iran on the very constructions of the cinematic image. Furthermore, she highlights the persistence of certain themes within Iranian cinema, tracing the continuing challenges facing Iranian society over the last few decades.

In doing so, she explores the influence of such masters of Iranian cinema as Abbas Kiarostami, Jafar Panahi and Asghar Farhadi on a new generation of lesser-known filmmakers who continue to garner international accolades and who are equally important in directing the future of Iranian cinema.