Iranian Film: “10” by Abbas Kiarostami

Abbas Kiarostami is one of Iran’s top directors and has won a number of awards, including the prestigious Palme d’Or. “10” was also nominated for a Palme d’Or.

“10” is an unusual film, but a moving one. There are ten short episodes, all of which occur in a car driven around Tehran by a woman. Each episode depicts (but not heavy-handedly) a different social problem in Iran, most of which deal with women.

Persian Girls: A Memoir

If you only have time to read one book about women in Iran, or modern Iran in general, this is it.

“Persian Girls” is a memoir of Nahid Rachlin's childhood in Iran in the 1950’s and 1960’s, a period of great change. It is the story of Nahid’s  relationships with the important women in her life: her aunt, her mother, her sisters, her grandmother; and the men: her father and her brothers.