What sparked the birth of new wave Iranian cinema?
The revolution (that transformed Iran from a constitutional monarchy to an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979). After the revolution and at the end of the Iran-Iraq war, people started a search for their true identity. Artistes, including filmmakers, led this search. As the new government was changing the structure of the country, a cultural revolution also was going on in search of identity. I spent my teenage years after the revolution and was in the war. Would you agree with the view that filmmaking to Iranian youth is what basketball is to Afro-American youth in US ghettos a way of rising up the ladder? I agree with part of the view. The big young population is always looking for ways to show itself. When the numbers are high, the competition is tough. That s why Iran has improved in science and arts, especially cinema. Three major firms are there to support exclusively young filmmakers. More than six film institutes take in 300-plus students a year. This is
