Jamsheed Akrami • Iran • 2013 • Explores Iran's censorship through mainstream and arthouse films.

The international success of Iranian cinema over the past decades belies the fact that Iranian filmmakers work under extremely harsh circumstances. Filmmaking in Iran is subject to tight government controls and strict censorship codes ranging from the ban of any criticism of the regime to tight restrictions on the representation of women. These codes undermine the filmmakers’ creativity—filmmaking bans, imprisonment, and forced exile are among the fates faced by those who tackle social issues in their cinema.

A Cinema of Discontent explores Iran’s censorship codes by analyzing dozens of clips from mainstream and art-house films. Film scholar Dr. Jamsheed Akrami interviews twelve Iranian filmmakers, including internationally-acclaimed directors Jafar Panahi, Bahman Ghobadi, and two-time Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi (A Separation, The Salesman).