Iranian New Wave

The Iranian New Wave (roughly 1960s–2010s) was a transformative, poetic, and often neorealist film movement marked by three distinct phases: the pre-revolutionary rise (1960s–1979), post-revolutionary adaptation (1980s–1990s), and the contemporary international era. It is characterized by low-budget, documentary-style filmmaking, child protagonists, and allegorical storytelling used to bypass censorship.

Phase 1: Pre-Revolutionary Rise (Late 1960s–1979)

Origin: Emerged in the late 1960s as a reaction against mainstream "Filmfarsi" and Westernization, influenced by Italian Neorealism and the French New Wave.

Characteristics: Focused on rural/urban life, non-professional actors, and social critique.

Key Directors: Dariush Mehrjui’s The Cow (1969) is often cited as the starting point. Other, notable creators included Ebrahim Golestan and Abbas Kiarostami, who used cinema to explore social problems, often under the guise of simple stories.

Phase 2: Post-Revolutionary Adaptation (1980s–1997)

Context : Following the 1979 Revolution, filmmakers had to navigate intense censorship.

Characteristics: Developed "poetic minimalism" - a style using metaphor, allegory, and child protagonists to discuss serious themes (politics, war, gender) without breaking state regulations.

Key Trends: The focus shifted to intimate, humanistic stories, often using the landscape of the Iran-Iraq war or children’s lives to reflect on societal change.

Phase 3: The Modern/International Era (1997–Present)

Context: Initiated by the election of a reformist president in 1997, leading to a slight loosening of restrictions.

Characteristics: Initiated by the election of a reformist president in 1997, leading to a slight loosening of restrictions.

Key Directors: Abbas Kiarostami, Jafar Panahi, Asghar Farhadi, and Mohsen Makhmalbaf.

Themes: Modern Iranian life, women's issues, and nuanced family drama, as exemplified by A Separation (2011)

Key Elements of the Movement

Child Protagonists: Used to explore adult themes indirectly (e.g., The Runner).

Metaphorical Narrative: Metaphorical Narrative:

Neorealist Aesthetics: Long takes, natural lighting, and location shooting.

IMPORTANT DIRECTORS AND FILMS:

First Wave

The Cow (Dariush Mehrjui, 1969)

Qeysar (Masoud Kimiai, 1969)

Tranquility in the Presence of Others (Nasser Taghvai, 1969/1972)

Downpour (Bahram Beizai, 1972)

A Simple Event (Sohrab Shahid Saless, 1973)

The Traveler (Abbas Kiarostami, 1974)

Still Life (Sohrab Shahid Saless, 1974)

Chess of the Wind (Mohammad Reza Aslani, 1976)

Second Wave

The Runner (Amir Naderi, 1985)

Where Is the Friend's Home? (Abbas Kiarostami, 1987)

Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami, 1990)

A Moment of Innocence (Mohsen Makhmalbaf, 1996)

Taste of Cherry (Abbas Kiarostami, 1997)

Children of Heaven (Majid Majidi, 1997)

The Color of Paradise (Majid Majidi, 1999)

Third Wave

A Time for Drunken Horses (Bahman Ghobadi, 2000)

Blackboards (Samira Makhmalbaf, 2000)

Deep Breath (Parviz Shahbazi, 2003)

Crimson Gold (Jafar Panahi, 2003)

Boutique (Hamid Nematollah, 2004)

About Elly (Asghar Farhadi, 2009)

Penniless (Hamid Nematollah, 2009)

The Bright Day (Hossein Shahabi, 2013)

No One Knows About Persian Cats (Bahman Ghobadi, 2009)

A Separation (Asghar Farhadi, 2011)