Ministry of Arts and Culture

Based on a short story by Houshang Golshiri, this film centers on mysterious and chilling events that take place in a village. A group of superstitious inhabitants have erected a scarecrow for protection but soon find themselves terrorized by it. Made at the end of the Shah’s reign, the film offers a metaphorical reflection on power relations — how people create their own idols who turn around to terrorize them.

A short documentary about social issues which Iranian people are struggling with in 1971.

Khark Island is an ethnographic documentary about an island in the Persian Gulf. Traditional life is shown, alongside westernized developments which have been built to accommodate newcomers working in the oil industry. The film uses some interesting tracking and aerial techniques, at times reminiscent of Albert Lamorisse's Lover's Wind.

The film shows the life of prostitutes in Tehran's city brothels, an area known as Shahre Now. The film closely follows a number of women and communicates how the burden of social constraints led them to surrender in the face of their common fate. The film does explore the possibility of re-education and development for these women, but in no way does it paint over the hard and brutal reality. The film was produced on behalf of the Organization of Iranian Women and was immediately banned while shooting was still going on. After the revolution, a portion of the material was found, and Shirdel decided to finish the film using photos by the late Kaveh Golestan that were taken more than ten years after the film itself was shot.

video report of the 2nd Asian international trade fair ran from 5 to 24 October 1969 in Tehran-Iran.