سینمای ایران - Iran

سینمای ایران - Iran

By Kallan Benjamin

The materials in this collection cover a boom in pre-revolutionary Iranian film production, in terms of both total output and artistic influence. Spanning 1954 to 1978—just before the Iranian revolution of 1979—these publications highlight the multifaceted and globalized nature of this period of Iranian film history, as they cover popular mainstream domestic films, the burgeoning Iranian New Wave movement, and European and Hollywood films and stars.

The 1954–1978 run of Cinema Star included below presents just such a mixture of genres and content. Functioning as both a trade paper and a fan magazine, Cinema Star offers serious film reviews alongside raunchy photos of stars and puff pieces about popular productions. It also features a mix of Iranian, European, and Hollywood films, filmmakers, and stars (though towards the end of the publication’s run, there is a notable shift in emphasis in favor of local Iranian subjects). In addition to a 1971–1974 run of Film and Art, this collection also includes material from the Tehran International Film Festival. With the inaugural festival taking place in 1972 and the 6th occurring in 1977, daily bulletins from each year’s event (written in a mix of Farsi and English) offer insight into the festival’s regular happenings—including the program schedule and transcripts of speeches given—and highlight the global nature of this international festival. Across these festival documents, there are articles about Iranian film production and cinema culture and interviews with filmmakers featured at the festival, but there is also, for example, an article about Dutch cinema and a reprinted interview with Frank Capra. The publications in this collection offer insight into this fascinating period of pre-revolutionary Iranian film production and give historical context to the impressive cinema culture of Iran today.