Remembering history as an act of resistance. Filmmakers present Cannes-winning documentary Rehearsals for a Revolution

In addition to If Pigeons Turned to Gold, the winner of this year’s Berlinale Documentary Award, the 60th KVIFF is also screening the best documentary from this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Rehearsals for a Revolution. The filmmaker, Pegah Ahangarani, traces modern Iranian history through five personal stories and the many hopes for change that have been dashed over the decades.

“All dictators want to erase memory and history, while filmmakers want to remind people of history. So the act of remembering is an act of resistance. That’s why the Iranian government doesn’t like documentary filmmakers. After the Women, Life, Freedom movement, many of them were forced into exile. But there are still filmmakers like me who continue to find ways to make films and express our resistance,” Pegah Ahangarani commented on the situation.  

“We are fighting fascism and dictatorship. We are not fighting a single dictator. We do not follow any movement or party that does not respect people’s freedom of choice. We do not believe that one person or Israel will solve everything. As the crew behind this film, we stand against war, genocide and any kind of massacre,” added producer Kaveh Farnam during a discussion that largely revolved around the current political situation in Iran.

The director’s mother, Manijeh Hekmat, also joined the discussion. It was her third visit to KVIFF, which has previously screened several of her films, including her directorial debut Women’s Prison. She did not, however, interfere in her daughter’s feature debut. “The new generation of Iranian filmmakers is so brave and knows so much that we, the older generation, should be learning from them,” she said.

Ahangarani now lives in London, although she would like to return to Iran one day. “Emigration has been kind to me. In Iran, I was an actress; abroad, I discovered myself as a documentary filmmaker. But it is incredibly difficult. Especially when something like the massacres that took place this January happen in your country and you have no news of your family or friends,” the artist reflected. She is not particularly optimistic about the future. “Until now, I refused to think of myself as an exile. I kept telling myself that living abroad was only temporary. But now I’m beginning to realise that it may be forever.”

She also shared with the audience why she had left the country. “Ten years ago, I made a short political documentary and I was imprisoned for it. Before Rehearsals for a Revolution, I made a short documentary about the executions that took place after the revolution, and when international festivals started showing interest in the film, the authorities summoned my mother and began threatening her. That was when I realised I could no longer return.”

“I have lived outside Iran for twenty-six years, and for the last eighteen I’ve not been able to return. I know I will never see my country again. But that does not mean I have lost hope. Like so many others, I keep learning that I must keep finding hope every day. We are not fighting for the outcome, but for the process itself. It is not the most important thing whether the government changes tomorrow. What matters is that we continue making films and telling stories. That is what gives our lives meaning. Forget about the final goal and enjoy every minute of your life,” Kaveh Farnam concluded after the emotionally charged film.