Filmfarsi (DVD)

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 what The Guardian calls “the biggest secret in cinema history” — a compelling window into a lost past. This documentary uncovers a cinema of titillation, action, and big emotions that presented a troubling mirror for Iran as it struggled to reconcile religious traditions with the turbulence of modernity and 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.