Institute History
Description
Defying, clarifying, and contradicting the images of Iran presented by U.S. media, social critics, and politicians—including recent pronouncements about the "axis of evil" or the supposed moderating influence of the country's liberal-minded youth and intellectuals—is Thierry Michel's Iran, Veiled Appearances, an insightful documentary on life in contemporary Iran.
Michel, the Belgian director of the wonderfully worrisome Mobutu, King of Zaire, has gained extraordinary access to both the inner machinations of Iran's paramilitary religious sects and the significant threats posed by radical Islam's commitment to martyrdom and its heavenly aspirations, and an increasingly modernized youth culture who express their desire for change and a more open society and challenge the wisdom of their parents who fought for—and continue to embrace—the traditions and ideals of the Islamic Revolution. By illustrating these dramatically different forces at play within Iranian society, Michel gives us a rare glimpse into a country that seems destined for change—or perhaps not. Deeply troubling and among the most important documentaries to be shown in this year's Festival, Iran, Veiled Appearances should be seen by anyone still wondering why September 11 happened, and where lies the fate of the world.