Abbas Milani

When Iran’s ayatollah banned music and performances in the entire country, instruments and records became contraband, and artists were exiled, imprisoned, or executed. As the new government began to crush basic human rights, Maestro Shajarian risked everything to confront the regime, singing truth to power and uniting the country in a chorus of millions strong. His life long pursuit of equality through art is immortalized for generations to come, through his majestic, soaring vocals and lyrics. His internationally renowned hymn, “MORGHE SAHAR”, performed at the finale of all his concerts is widely considered the Unofficial National Anthem for Iranian Freedom.

In 1979, under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini, revolution broke out in Iran and overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. This event marks the end of a two and a half thousand year old monarchy. This documentary retraces the lives of these two enemies who clashed for more than thirty years, from the Shah's rise to power in the 1940s until his fall.

Simin Daneshvar was an Iranian pioneering novelist who lived nearly for a century and under 3 different political regimes. She and her husband, (Jalal Al Ahamd) have been regarded as "Iranian Simone de Beauvoir, and Jean-Paul Sartre". But they had a very different fate. Simin's life is a mirror of what has happened to Iranian women throughout a century, from unveiling the hijab and playing important roles in society to imposing hijab and staying at home in the Islamic regime. This film looks at her life through the history of women's movement in Iran.

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