The cinema of Iran is celebrated both locally and internationally, yet elements of this diverse field remain comparatively understudied. This book brings together a diverse range of scholars to explore contemporary Iranian cinema in its local and international contexts from a range of perspectives including aesthetic, socio-political comparative approaches. Its chapters analyse the work of well-known filmmakers on the international film circuit such as Abbas Kiarostami, Mohammad Reza Aslani and Jaffar Panahi, as well as internationally lesser-known domestic films such as those of Kamal Tabrizi and the 'Sacred Defence' films of the Iran-Iraq war. The book further widens its scope with chapters which also examine the material practices of the Iranian film industry itself, including chapters on the process by which Iranian films become 'accessible' to international audience. Finally, it considers, too, representations of Iranians in foreign cinemas, and how these have in turn affected Iranian films.

List of ContributorsIntroductionBehrooz Mahmoodi-Bakhtiari and Mohammad RahmatiPart One: Iranian Cinema - A Look from Within1 Eastern Caressing Eyes: Persian-Islamic Arts, Haptic Moments and Kiarostami's CinemaMilad Sotoudeh, Sajad Sotoudeh and Alireza Sayyad2 A Semiological Analysis of Male-Female Relationships in Post-Revolutionary Iranian CinemaAsal Bagheri3 Off-Screen Voice and Conditions of Meaning in The Wind Will Carry Us (1999) by Abbas KiarostamiHemen Heidari4 The Production of War Films During the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88) in Iran: A Singular Case in the History of CinemaAgnès Devictor5 Self-Reflexivity in Iranian New Wave Cinema: The Cases of Kiarostami, Makhmalbaf and PanahiPardis Minuchehr6 Coming of Age: Watching the Iranian Youth Grow Up on the ScreenHossein Khosrowjah7 Representation of Social Issues in Iranian CinemaAzam RavadradPart Two: Iranian Cinema and Its Global Reach8 The Global Roads of KiarostamiJean-Michel Frodon9 France-Iran: Fifty Years of Mutual Influence and AdmirationLaurent Garreau10 Perspectives of Iranian Films in German CinemaStefan Piasecki11 Presentation of Italian Films in Iran, and Their Impact on Iranian Cinema: A Historical OverviewMohammad Foad Abachi12 Persia on Celluloid: Depicting the 'Lure' and 'Decadence' of Iran in European Films, 1900s-1930Golbarg Rekabtalaei