PROSTITUTION BEHIND THE VEIL
Nahid Persson
Denmark, 2004, 58 minutes
Iranian expatriate filmmaker Nahid Persson entered Iran with permission to make a documentary, but not this one. She met Minna and Fariba and felt compelled to spend the next year capturing their story. The husbands of both women have been jailed for political crimes, leaving them with nothing. Lack of education, opportunity and family support has left them with few choices but to sell themselves to survive.
Far from judging them, Perrson allows us to identify with them and understand the complex role of women in Islam. For example, the "sighe," or temporary marriage, allows a man to legally marry a woman for a period ranging from two hours to 99 years. The filmmaker does not comment on the practice. But it is clear that for these women, engaging in a long term sighe is a Faustian bargain--it could be a dangerous trap or a respite from the far riskier world of potential physical abuse and arrest working the streets.
PROSTITUTION BEHIND THE VEIL also challenges us to consider both the role of the filmmaker and the potential impact of storytelling. Filming in secret, far from the eyes of censors, Persson faced real danger in the production process, and upon the film's release. She cannot return to Iran under the current regime. After a copy of the film was illegally transmitted over satellite in Iran, Minna and Fariba had to relocate for their own safety.
This is a film that must be seen.
Patricia Finneran
Born in 1960, Nahid Persson fled Iran 20 years ago. She has since studied microbiology in Sweden, and founded a local radio station there. She finished her studies at Film-och TV Skolan in 1993 and attended master class education in 2003-2004. Her other films include ME AND MY COUSIN, THE LAST DAYS OF LIFE and END OF EXILE.
Print Source:
Annette Lonvang, Danish Film Institute
Gothersgade 55
Copenhagen K DK-1123
Denmark
Tel: +45.33.74.3400
Fax: +45.2173.8733
Email: festivalprintmanager@dfi.dk
PRECEDED BY...DASTAAR: DEFENDING SIKH IDENTITY
Kevin Lee
USA, 2004, 13 minutes
American Sikhs struggle, post-9/11, to overcome the fear and intolerance that arises when they are misidentified as Muslims because of their use of the dastaar, or turban.
Print Source:
Kevin Lee
25-04 21st St
Astoria, NY 11102
Tel: 212.903.8493
Email: alsolikelife@yahoo.com
Wednesday 6/15 at 5:00 p.m.
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