Iranian New Wave

Starting in the 1950s, a number of “new waves” across the globe revolutionized the language and grammar of cinema in their respective countries.

One such revolution occurred in Iran around 1970, and while less popular than the beloved French New Wave of the 1960s, was just as important and equally influential to the course of film history. The Iranian New Wave describes not only a group of directors or a period of innovation within a national film industry, but a distinct alternative to the commercial mainstream cinema that preceded it. While all new waves share these features in common, the Iranian New Wave is on-going and occurred in the midst of great socio-political upheaval. Iran’s film industry has always been state regulated but in 1978/79, the country underwent an Islamic revolution that made it increasingly difficult for new wave directors to express their vision of an Islamic culture free from the strictures and “guidance” of a dogmatic, government-enforced censorship code.

Join Emerson College professor Andre Puca for an in-depth look at five new wave films spanning from 1970 to more or less the present day, and marvel at the extent to which they transcend a state-censored ideology to express a truly universal vision of humankind’s most enduring social and ethical dilemmas.  

Please note that each class session will run approximately three hours.