Filmfarsi (2020)

Sex, drugs, rock ‘n roll — Iranian style! A personal journey through the history of Iranian popular cinema before the revolution and the world of “filmfarsi”, a term referring to the rowdy and melodramatic genre films made from the early 1950s to 1979. Filmfarsi provides a fascinating archaeology of “the biggest secret in cinema history” (The Guardian) — a compelling window into a lost past. This documentary uncovers a cinema of titillation, action and big emotions, which presented a troubling mirror for the country, as Iran struggled to reconcile its religious traditions with the turbulence of modernity, and the influences of the West. Four years in the making, Filmfarsi features clips from more than 100 films, almost all banned in their country of production.