Profession: Documentarist

Directed by

Shirin Barghnavard

In this absorbing film, seven independent female Iranian documentary makers take us into their personal and professional world, in an Iran that continues to be punctured by political, social and economic crises. What becomes clear over seven autobiographical chapters, is that choosing to become a documentary maker in Iran is a brave decision, often placing your liberty in danger. These women are driven by the need to document their world, and the forces that continue to restrict their movement and freedom. Whether it is making a film about department stores in Tehran featuring mannequins with severed heads and breasts, or the women singers they used to love as children, who have been banned from radio and TV since the revolution, or the huge swell of hope that comes with each election, these directors provide a rare and incisive view inside contemporary Iran, a country they continue to love, even as they will it to change.