The Iranian cinema as an established industry dates to about 1930 but it wasn’t until the late ’60s and early ’70s that Iranian directors such as Bahram Bayzai (DOWNPOUR, 1971 and THE CROW, 1977), Massoud Kimiai (COME STRANGER!, 1969 and STAGS, 1975), Dariush Mehrjui (DIAMOND 33, 1967 and THE POSTMAN, 1970) and Amir Naderi (GOODBYE, MY FRIEND, 1971) began winning international recognition. The future of the industry was thrown into question in 1979 when the Shah was deposed by the Islamic Revolution and for several years production ground to a halt, disturbed by political uncertainty, economic recession and the war with Iraq.

In 1983 the Islamic government resolved the uncertainty by creating the Farabi Cinema Foundation whose mandate was to develop a distinctively Iranian national cinema with both ethical substance (as defined by the Islamic state) and artistic merit. Although censorship was imposed, some existing works were banned and several filmmakers were forced to retire or work abroad, the Farabi Foundation helped recruit and train a new generation of filmmakers, and by restricting foreign imports and funding domestic cinema, Farabi succeeded in boosting Iranian film production and reviving public interest. By the ’90s, Iran was producing about 45 features a year, film attendance was high and, internationally, Iranian films were garnering excellent notices and winning prizes.

In 1987, when Canada still didn’t have an ambassador in Tehran (in the aftermath of the American hostages crisis), the Montreal World Film Festival presented two films by Massood Jafari Jozani in the presence of an Iranian delegation. 1987 was also the year several other names joined those of Bayzai, Mehrjui and Naderi on the cinematic map. It was the year of Abbas Kiarostami’s WHERE IS MY FRIEND’S HOME? and BASHU, THE LITTLE STRANGER and Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s THE PEDDLER. Since then we have heard of Kianoush Ayyari (BEYOND THE FIRE, 1989), Jafar Panahi (THE WHITE BALLOON, 1995), Abolfazi Jalili (A TRUE STORY, 1996), Majid Majidi (BADUK, 1991) and a host of others, among them even several women directors: Puran Derakhshandeh (LOST TIME, 1990), Ferial Behzad (KAKOLI, 1990), Rakhshan Bani-Etemad (NARGESS, 1992 and THE BLUE SCARF, 1995), Yasmin Malek Nasr (COMMON PLIGHT, 1997).

Although several themes are evident in recent Iranian cinema, most notably an emphasis on children (many of the new directors were trained on children’s films), the hardships of daily life and the stoicism of ordinary people, the subject matter may vary widely from film to film and (particularly in Makhmalbaf’s work) there are moments of outright fantasy and surrealism. Iranian cinema is clearly coming of age.

And it is in this context that the Montreal World Film Festival deemed it timely to have a larger look at what Iranian cineastes are making and to devote a special section to their work. Some of the names in these pages are already known to festival goers; the others will surely be remembered for future editions.