{"id":215276,"date":"2026-03-11T19:15:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T19:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/215276\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T19:15:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T19:15:09","slug":"the-first-lady-of-iranian-film-to-speak-in-berkeley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/215276\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u2018First Lady\u2019 of Iranian Film to Speak in Berkeley"},"content":{"rendered":"

Next is the 1972 film The Postman<\/a>, from the late director Dariush Mehrjui<\/a>, which adapts 19th century German playwright Georg B\u00fcchner<\/a>\u2018s heartbreaking drama Woyzeck to 1970s Iran. <\/p>\n

\"\"A still from \u2018Bashu, the Little Stranger\u2019 (dir. Bahram Beyzaie, 1986). (Roashana Studios)<\/p>\n

The series also features Bahram Beyzaie<\/a>\u2018s 1986 movie Bashu, the Little Stranger<\/a>, which will be shown on March 29 and April 8.<\/p>\n

At the center of the film series is the work of Rakhshan Banietemad<\/a>. An award-winning filmmaker who emerged in the wake of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Banietemad is known as \u201cthe first lady\u201d of Iranian cinema. Next month, as three of her films show at BAMPFA, Banietemad will visit Berkeley to discuss her work with professor Moallem.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer films depict the textures of everyday life,\u201d Moallem says of Banietemad. Banietemad illuminates women\u2019s experiences in Iran, while also covering topics like environmental degradation and poverty, in both urban and rural settings, Moallem says. At the same time, Banietemad\u2019s films push against \u201cthe limits of state censorship and patriarchal cultural practices.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"A still from \u2018Under the Skin of the City,\u2019 (dir. Rakhshan Banietemad, 2001). (Rakhshan Banietemad)<\/p>\n

Banietemad\u2019s 2015 film All My Trees<\/a>, which concentrates on the work of the late environmental activist Mahlagha Mallah<\/a>, screens on April 22. Her 2001 film Under the Skin of the City<\/a> screens April 23, with her 2005 film Gilaneh<\/a> screening later that evening.<\/p>\n

The feature films Under the Skin of the City<\/a> and Gilaneh<\/a> have different tones, as they\u2019re set in different times. But at their core, both focus on families led by matriarchs who are finding ways to manage amid political turmoil and societal issues \u2014 a key theme of the series.<\/p>\n

The series\u2019 finale, Moallem explains, includes films especially relevant right now. Under the Skin of the City is \u201can unflinching look at gendered and economic violence,\u201d while Gilaneh is about \u201cthe Iran\u2013Iraq war\u2019s long aftermath and the burden of care work.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2018The Iranian Cinema: From Aesthetics to Politics<\/a>\u2019 runs through April 23 at BAMPFA (2155 Center St., Berkeley). Details and ticket information here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Next is the 1972 film The Postman, from the late director Dariush Mehrjui, which adapts 19th century German…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215277,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":["post-215276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215276\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}