Found footages of revolution

: "Iran is a woman's name"

Abstract

The found footages of the documentary Iran Is a Woman’s Name, depicts and documents Iran through the videos and photographs that were taken on the streets, by the people, on the verge of imminent revolution. The “Women. Life. Freedom” movement, which continued in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini caused the release of footage and information that is of historical and archival importance. By classifying this archive, an attempt has been made to depict the milestones of this revolution through found footage and photos. In the editing process, were selected only footages, photos and information taken on the first 10 days of the movement. Just a small part of the archived footages (500 footages) has been depicted during this thirty-minute documentary. The differences in place, time, and on the number of cameras have intentionally or unintentionally given the film an episodic atmosphere that introduces itself to the audience as its DNA. In the absence of a professional camera, personal devices (mobile phones) function as an extension of the photographer’s body. Although these characteristics deprive the film of having cinematic quality images, it has given a unique identity to the documentary. Besides 500 found footages with multiple visual qualities and features, which were photographed by 500 different people, the will of a nation with different tribes, languages and dialects have also been illustrated. The eastern characteristics such as episodic and puzzle-like narration are in fact an integral part of this film. “Iran is a women’s name” without cinematic facilities such as camera, mise-en-scene, background music, etc., introduces a void that intended to work in favour of people's efforts for freedom. The film tries to put women at the centre of attention for the simple reason that a free society cannot accrue without the presence of free women. In fact, “Iran” is one of the classical names for Iranian women, who have been struggling for years with rulers that introduce them to the world under the name of Islamic Republic. The film aims then to depict hard and private moments of people while struggling with the Regime. It also aims to generate international awareness not only on this period in Iran, but also on the conditions of ordinary people’s lives that have been at the state of flux for a very long time.

Date of Award	20 Dec 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Carlos Ruiz Carmona (Supervisor) & Vânia Maria Coutinho (Co-Supervisor)