With occasional reflection on the perpetual absurdity/intrigue of life and society in general.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

'Persian Cats' Exposes Repression Of Musicians In Iran - NPR - Featured Film of Interest


The new film No One Knows About Persian Cats tells the story of subversive musicians in Iran, where certain styles of music -- including heavy metal, rock and hip-hop -- are illegal to record, produce and consume. The film won two prizes at last year's Cannes International Film Festival and opens in the U.S. this week.
The director is renowned Kurdish-Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi (A Time for Drunken Horses, Marooned in Iraq, Turtles Can Fly) and journalist and author Roxana Saberi is the co-writer, though much of the script was improvised. It was shot in secret, since popular music is banned in Iran.
The movie takes place at real locations, as the musicians try to put together a band, a concert and a trip to England. But Ghobadi, speaking through an interpreter, emphasizes that it is not a documentary.
"These kids have within themselves and their real lives a real drama," Ghobadi says. "It's not like in the West, going on freely and without any repression. They're being repressed -- they don't have any concerts, and this in itself makes them live a fiction life."
Follow the post-title link to NPR to read the rest of the article.

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