Iran, Veiled Appearances

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Iran has been presented for years as one of the cradles of Muslim fundamentalists, and more recently as a radical Muslim country on the brink of developing nuclear weapons. Iran intrigues the West on more than one account.

A college dormitory, a cemetery, a military academy, a drama class, a mosque... such are the places IRAN, VEILED APPEARANCES takes us. Iranians in their every-day life: soldiers, religious figures, young people, former soldiers, but also members of reforming movements, students, artists, or intellectuals who often pay a heavy price in their fight for freedom.

The film shows a culturally and socially fractured society, shows the country from many angles and created a multifaceted film, in image of a country where the religious fervour of some contrasts with the desire for freedom of others.

Revolution, violence and religious fanaticism; such are the images Iran has shown to the world for over two decades. Yet with all of today's sufferings, how could it be forgotten that Iran is one of the oldest nations in history?

Twenty-three years after the Islamic revolution, this country, once again prey to the turbulence of history, is taking the road towards modernity. Faced with a radical Islam advocated by religious orthodoxy, Iranian youth - eyes turned towards the West and exposed to the winds of globalisation - can no longer find its place in the religious revolution of its elders. Is the chador today nothing more than the last act of a theocracy threatened by the trend of globalisation? Is Islamic fundamentalism soluble in neo-liberalism?

IRAN, VEILED APPEARANCES looks equally at those convinced of a radical Islam and at those who aspire to more freedom. The Iranians, having confirmed their desire for change during the presidential elections, have been conned of their meagre conquests by the power of the most conservative Islamic fundamentalists. It is they who have firm control of the army, the courts and the media and who haven't hesitated to resort to political assassination and to shut off any freedom of speech.

The struggle has begun, and it is impossible today to predict how this desire for change, as expressed democratically by a large part of the Iranian population, will take a concrete form. The power of the Mullahs as well as the field of operation of the Islamic fundamentalist groups is considerable. Oppression of the reforming factions, under the mask of the cult of martyrs of the revolution, does exist.

Students, journalists, intellectuals, artists and even close associates of the reforming president Mohammed Khatami are subjected to political assassination, imprisonment, and psychological and physical torture. A true battle for freedom of expression is shaking the Iranian capital but it is impossible to predict the price that will have to be paid...

Also available in a 90 minute version

'A revelatory examination... Michel's access is remarkable, his insights pointed. The film, of course, couldn't be more timely.'-Newsday

'Ventur[es] into dangerous territory, looking for a reality that has little to do with the images to be found in the international press... What emerges is a film that gives a brief glimpse of the complexity of the social fabric in modern Iran, where a desire for modernism chafes against the bedrock of fundamentalism. A courageous film... careful to ground its observations on a realistic human scale.'-The Bulletin

'Compelling! Recommended! The testimony of the proponents of democratic reform who have suffered for their beliefs is poignant, and the scenes of their opponents preparing for further retaliatory action carry an ominous power.'-Video Librarian

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Main credits

Michel, Thierry (Screenwriter)
Michel, Thierry (Director)
Pireaux, Christine (Producer)
Lalou, Serge (Producer)

Other credits

Directors of photography, Farsin Khosrowshahi, Symka Pacanowski; editor, Marine Deleu.

MARC Record See Worldcat record

Keywords

Iran ; Islam; Islamic; Revolution; Republic; change; contemporary; democracy Revolution; Mohammad Mokhtari; Tehran; martyr; Bassijis; Bassiji; Islamic militia; protest; cleric; Thierry Michel; paramilitary religious sects; documentary; documentary film on Iran; video; DVD; "Iran, Veiled Appearances"; Icarus Films

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[non-English narration]

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Karaj Cemetery, south of Tehran.

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This is the funeral of Mohammad
Mokhtari, a writer, a poet,

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who is murdered by the cronies of
the ministry of the information.

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We\'re in the Islamic Republic of Iran and
he is one of the many lay intellectuals

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who\'s throats have been slit or have been
strangled or stabbed in the name of Islam.

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[sil.]

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[music]

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In the heart of the Middle East,
at the foothills of Central Asia,

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Tehran, the capital of Iran, is a metropolis
of more than 10 million inhabitants.

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[music]

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[sil.]

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A Muslim country

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with a sheet culture, Iran is run by
religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,

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who succeed the supreme
guide, the eye man Khamenei.

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[music]

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[music]

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[sil.]

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I came to Tehran in order to grasp the
meaning of revolution and its ideals,

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to delve into the daily life of
a society long considered to be

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the cradle of Islamic fundamentalism.
I wanted to discover this country

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that has been demonized by western powers and
that is once again prey to historical turmoil.

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[sil.]

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[non-English narration]

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In order to immerse myself
better into contemporary Iran,

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I decided to go back to the archives to become
informed on one of the last revolutions

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of the past millennium.

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[music]

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In those days, a corrupt despot

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who felt vested with the divine mission proclaimed
himself Shah of Shahs or King of Kings.

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[music]

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Sustained by their own faith,
the people took to the streets,

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prepared to pay dearly with their blood.
They were able to force the Shah into exile.

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[sil.]

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Revolution has its own martyrs. Young Islamists
who by the hundreds and the thousands

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sacrificed their lives.

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[sil.]

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Leading this revolution, Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei returned from exile

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and imposed himself as the supreme leader.

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[sil.]

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Thus the first Islamic
Republic of modern history

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put an end to the separation
of church and state.

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But today what is left of this revolution?

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[sil.]

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[non-English narration]

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[non-English narration]

00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:29.999
The young Bassid,

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our volunteer force organized as youth movement.
They\'re trained by the religious authorities

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and are mentor pulled
order, an Islamic morals.

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[sil.]

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An oasis of supervised freedom

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within the arts department of the university, boys
and girls can express a certain amount of creativity

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but always within set rules,
such as the wearing of the veil.

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[sil.]

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[sil.]

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[non-English narration]

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[sil.]

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[music]

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[sil.]

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The undisputed leader of the reformers,

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President Khatami has been twice been
elected by more than 70% of voters

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and enjoys an absolute
majority in parliament.

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[music]

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The President Khatami is however caught in a vice
between the yearning for change of the youth

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and the threat imposed on him by the religious conservatives,
determined to keep their power and privileges.

00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:09.999
[music]

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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
successor to Ali Khamenei

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as the Supreme Leader acts as the
safe guard to religious orthodoxy.

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More significantly, he is the true
bearer of political and military power.

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[sil.]

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Mohammed Khatami, the President,

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has only token powers. He does not
control the army, the police,

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the judicial system, or radio and
television. He remains under the tutelage

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under the religious authorities.

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[non-English narration]

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[non-English narration]

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At the University of Tehran
for several years now,

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students have been mobilizing to promote
the democratization of the regime

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but they keep running into the violent
reaction of extremist Islamic groups.

00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:50.000
[sil.]

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[sil.]

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[sil.]

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Without any real legitimacy

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and in spite of the presence of the
Forces of Order, the radical Islamists

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brutally arrested several students.

00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:38.000
[sil.]

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In order to suppress any opposition,
the Islamic militia do not hesitate

00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:49.999
to confront the student movement on University
grounds. They ransack, wound, or even kill.

00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:54.999
[sil.]

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This student revolt is the first expression
of violent opposition to the regime

00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.999
in 20 years of Islamic Republic history.

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Many students will be arrested and
sentenced to lengthy prison terms.

00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:14.999
[non-English narration]

00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:19.999
The university remains the
strong hold of opposition,

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even if meetings are becoming harder to organize and
attend, and if the various associations\' premises

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are declared off limits. But
it is hard to prevent students

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from meeting in the dorms.

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[non-English narration]

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[non-English narration]

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[music]

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On the initiative of the Guide
and under his moral authority,

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thousands of collective marriages take
place in all the Iranian Universities.

00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:43.000
[music]

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In Tehran, this ceremony takes place in the
banquet hall of the Ministry of the Interior.

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[music]

00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:15.000
[non-English narration]

00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:35.000
[non-English narration]

00:23:55.000 --> 00:24:00.000
[non-English narration]

00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:13.000
[sil.]

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Exceptionally, authorization
has been secured

00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:49.999
for a pop music concert. However,
although, seemingly common place,

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this cultural event is well supervised by
agents of the Ministry of the Interior,

00:24:55.000 --> 00:25:00.000
who stand ready to contain any disruption.

00:25:55.000 --> 00:26:03.000
[non-English narration]

00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:19.999
[music]

00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:25.000
[sil.]

00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:13.000
[sil.]

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Respecting Persian traditions,
but in love with modernity,

00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:29.999
marriages of the better half take place
in the Northern districts of Tehran.

00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:34.999
[non-English narration]

00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:43.000
[music]

00:28:55.000 --> 00:29:03.000
[music]

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[sil.]

00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:29.999
In the Northern Districts,

00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:34.999
a modernist and western (inaudible) experiments
with different ways of wearing the veil.

00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:39.999
And the few strands of visible hair are the
first indicators of the balance of power

00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:44.999
between tradition and modernity
at the heart of Iranian society.

00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:53.000
[sil.]

00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:48.000
[sil.]

00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:59.999
Friday, the day of prayer

00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.999
and introspection in the Muslim world, thousands
of youth climb into the Alborz Mountains

00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:09.999
that overlook the city of Tehran.

00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:18.000
[sil.]

00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.999
[music]

00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:33.000
[sil.]

00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:35.000
[non-English narration]

00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:34.999
[sil.]

00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:43.000
[music]

00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:39.999
[non-English narration]

00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:48.000
[sil.]

00:36:55.000 --> 00:37:03.000
[music]

00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:08.000
[music]

00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:30.000
[sil.]

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[sil.]

00:39:55.000 --> 00:40:00.000
[non-English narration]

00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:50.000
[non-English narration]

00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:25.000
[non-English narration]

00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:45.000
[non-English narration]

00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:04.999
[sil.]

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Set free after several months in prison, Mr.
Bastengar(ph) is a dedicated Muslim who have case

00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:14.999
to Islamic democracy. Very active during
the revolution, he was also in prison

00:43:15.000 --> 00:43:20.000
for many long years under the Shah.

00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:04.999
Ashura celebrates the martyrdom
and death of Imam hossein\'s,

00:45:05.000 --> 00:45:09.999
the Founder of Shia(ph) Islam.
It is a festival of mourning,

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promoted by the religious authorities
who constantly seek new martyrs

00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:20.000
prepared to sacrifice their lives in
the name of religious revolution.

00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:09.999
South of the town of Tehran is the
bastion of Islamic conservatives.

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Here everyone respects the rules,
morality, and religious practice.

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Every week, a different
family takes its turn

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in preparing to receive neighbors
for community prayers.

00:46:30.000 --> 00:46:38.000
[non-English narration]

00:49:55.000 --> 00:50:03.000
[music]

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[sil.]

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[music]

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A personal advisor to President Khatami,

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Said Hajarian, who is also a major
(inaudible) and favor of democratic reform

00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:54.999
was the victim of an assassination attempt.

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[music]

00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:23.000
[sil.]

00:52:15.000 --> 00:52:20.000
[sil.]

00:52:45.000 --> 00:52:49.999
[non-English narration]

00:52:50.000 --> 00:52:55.000
[sil.]

00:53:00.000 --> 00:53:05.000
[sil.]

00:53:25.000 --> 00:53:33.000
[sil.]

00:54:25.000 --> 00:54:33.000
[non-English narration]

00:54:55.000 --> 00:55:00.000
[sil.]

00:55:20.000 --> 00:55:25.000
[non-English narration]

00:55:35.000 --> 00:55:43.000
[sil.]

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[sil.]

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[non-English narration]

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[music]

00:57:35.000 --> 00:57:43.000
[music]

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