A People in the Shadows
Directed by Bani Khoshnoudi
Documentary feature
Iran / France - 2008
92 min./ Color
Synopsis
Almost thirty years after the revolution, and twenty since the end of the long
Iran-Iraq war, A People in the Shadows takes us on a voyage into the heart
of Tehran, a megalopolis of 14 million people. The city is still recovering
from its past, as talk of American sanctions and a possible attack resonate.
Through observation and slow sequences, the film takes an intimate look at
the way people live in this immense city today. Caught up in the paradoxes
and contradictions of their society, the people of Tehran are surrounded by images of past and future death, while finding ways to juggle state propaganda
and foreign threat on a daily basis.
Director's Intentions
Although we may depict Iranians as adamant defenders of their regime, and
of their version of political Islam, a closer look brings us to a whole
different place. This sort of national pride or patriotism is omnipresent
in the media and official spheres, but how attached are we actually to
these ideas of martyrdom and the preservation of our “Islamic” values?
What would war mean for the youth who struggle with this very regime who
pretends to defend their “freedom” against foreign invasion?
What sentiments arise when the country that you love and hate at the same
time is under threat? The people in the film, just managing their daily
lives in this enormous city, are stuck in the middle of a context that
they did not choose.
My desire is to show an intimate view of people’s lives in Tehran,
while revealing the paradoxes that they represent in today’s Iran.
I wish to show a diversified view of Iranians, in places that do not normally
visit, in order to instigate thought within ourselves concerning our preconceived
view of a people misrepresented and distant from us. The film not only positions
itself against war mongering or aggressive tendencies in world politics,
but also confronts the Iranian government’s use of war and imagery
from the past devastation in order to manipulate and control the Iranian
people today, almost 30 years since the revolution that overthrew the Shah.
Produced by Pensée Sauvage Films with the support of the Jan Vrijman Fund