سینمای ایران — سنت فیلم هنری که جمهوری اسلامی را به چالش کشید
Iranian cinema emerged as a global force in the 1970s under the Shah and survived — transformed — under the Islamic Republic. The pre-revolutionary wave included Dariush Mehrjui's The Cow (1969) and Sohrab Shahid Saless's works. The 1979 revolution initially shut down cinema, but by the 1980s, directors adapted to produce some of the world's most celebrated art films under censorship.
Abbas Kiarostami (1940–2016) became the emblematic Iranian director internationally — his Taste of Cherry (1997) won the Palme d'Or. Asghar Farhadi won two Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film (A Separation, 2012 and The Salesman, 2017), making him the most internationally acclaimed Iranian director. Both films examine moral dilemmas in contemporary Iranian society.
Jafar Panahi has been repeatedly imprisoned and banned from filmmaking by the Islamic Republic for his politically critical works — yet continues making films secretly, smuggling them out of Iran. His films Taxi Tehran (Golden Bear, Berlin 2015) and This Is Not a Film document his defiance. Iranian cinema embodies the broader Iranian cultural resistance: creating beauty and truth under oppression.
Yes — Asghar Farhadi won Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards twice: for A Separation (2012) and The Salesman (2017). Iran has also received multiple Academy Award nominations for other films.
Abbas Kiarostami (1940–2016) is Iran's most celebrated filmmaker internationally. His films, including Taste of Cherry (Palme d'Or, 1997) and Close-Up, are considered masterpieces of world cinema, known for blurring the lines between fiction and documentary.