Iranian Cinema After the Revolution
An introduction to Iran:
Iran or Persia as it was previously known was founded more than 4,000 years ago and is thus one of the oldest surviving nations of the world. Iran had been primarily ruled by series of dynasties including such illustrious families as the Achaemenids (500-330 B.C.), the Sassanians (A.D. 226-650), and the Safavides (1500-1722). Iranian dynasties have been synonymous with victories and land acquisition but at the present Iran has s 1,648,195 square kilometers of Middle Eastern territory under its command. It is situated close to former Russia and two former Soviet republics (Azerbaijan and Tajikistan) are its close neighbors. Some other prominent neighbors include the Caspian Sea in the north, Turkey and Iraq in the west, and Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. And in the south it has the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman as its neighbors. The country is divided into various provinces today which are known as ostan. With 24 ostan, 195 districts, 513 cities, 602 towns, 2,100 villages, and 104,000 hamlets, Iran is not exactly a small country. Tehran is the capital and some important cities include Mashhad, Isfahan, Tabriz, Shiraz, Kermanshah, Ghom, Oroomieh, and Rasht. A census conducted in 1991 revealed that Iran is the most populous country in the Middle East with a population of 58,110,227. The interesting part of this population includes its age-group makeup. Iran's young population i.e. people under the age of 15 form 45.5% of the total population. Urban-rural gap is not as big as it is in some South Asian countries with 57% urban and 43% rural population.
Iran has always been a great seat of learning. With a predominantly Muslim population, the country has usually favored religious changes and supported religious clerics. The most important change was seen in 1979 when a national referendum brought Ayatollah Khomeini to power and this led to the religious revolution that changed the face of Iran for years to come. The country during those years was headed by religious clerics who oversaw all judicial and legislative activities to ensure complete compliance with Islamic laws.
Brief overview of cinema in Iran
Cinema has not always been a part of Iranian culture. Or should we say its growth was slow yet steady in a country ruled by Islamic rules and regulations. The first ever shots taken in Iran are believed to go back to mid 19th century when Nasser-al-Din Shah's son and successor, Mozaffar-al-Din Shah learnt about films during a visit to France and asked his photographer, Mirza Ebrahim, to learn to use the camera. It was only in early 20 tyh century that Iran was first exposed to imported kinescope and soon after Iran witnessed the birth of first public theater with seating capacity of around 200. But film screening began much later in 1913. Iran mostly showed French pictures since it did not have a film industry of its own and "on busy days the performances were accompanied by a piano and a violin, and refreshments appropriate for the season were served" (Gaffary, 1990).
The first film ever made in Iran was a silent movie produced in 1921 and talkies came later in 1933 when first sound movie Dokhtar-e-Lur came out. This marked the beginning of Iranian industry which was technically inferior to many advanced film industries of the world. While the industry was suffering because of lack of technical expertise, audience's appetite for foreign films didn't help the situation either. Most theaters therefore screened foreign films only and Iran rarely produced any movies for first fifty years. By 1947, Iran had produced only 2 films, in 1952 the number reached 20, by 1962 it increased to 30 and in 1971, Iran had produced 88 films. In 1977, the number of domestic films came down to 50 while foreign films during that period totaled 504 (Asadi & Mehrdad, 1975, p. 85).
Number of Theaters in Iran
Year
Number
1963
1968
1973
1978
1979
1986
1990
Source: Compiled based on data in Asadi & Mehrdad, 1975; Mohsenian Rad, 1992.
Though film production was slow, Iran was definitely improving where number of theatres was concerned. From 1968 to 1977, the number of theaters tripled but this trend came to a screeching halt with the uprising of 1979.
Iranian Cinema after the Revolution
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