Journal of Fine Arts Volume 1, Issue 3, 2018, PP 16-21 ISSN 2637-5885 Journal of Fine Arts V1 ● I3 ● 2018 16 Contemporary Iranian Cinema from another Perspective Majid Sarsangi 1 , Hamed Soleimanzadeh 2 1 Department of Arts, School of Performing Arts and Music, College of Fine Arts, Tehran University, Iran 2 PhD art research, Nazar Institute of Art, Architecture and Urbanism in Tehran, Iran *Corresponding Author: Hamed Soleimanzadeh, PhD art research, Nazar Institute of Art, Architecture and Urbanism in Tehran, Iran INTRODUCTION In most countries with a great cinematic tradition, the nonconformist or alternative cinema was made as a revolt against the industrial mainstream cinema and it takes its roosts from the historical, local, sociological and artistic contexts. This is also true about Iranian cinema. The new experimental and independent movement in Iranian cinema which is also called the New Wave of Iranian cinema, starts from 1340s and as a type of cinema stood against the mainstream movies also known as “Film-Farsi”. This was a clear and natural response from filmmakers who were trying to come up with new forms of expression for their films and were recognized as artistic mirrors in front of the national identity and culture. Film- Farsis were mainly influenced by American and Indian mainstream cinema and their structures and building blocks never came from the sociological identity, traditions or beliefs of Iranian people. The independent and nonconformist cinema at that time was unable to have any sort of meaningful effect on the narrative or aesthetic style of the mainstream cinema but what it did was to introduce a new kind of cinema to the audience. In that period a few directors went from the New Wave Cinema to the more economic productions so that they can try out the use of unconventional techniques and skills in the mainstream cinema. During the first attempts in this approach, changing the interests of mainstream filmmakers wasn’t an easy task and lots of the avant-garde filmmakers in Iran were faced with several problems during the production. These problems usually occurred in two areas: one of them was the ambiguous economy of Iranian Cinema in 1340s, and the other one was the made-up background of Iranian culture. Mainstream producers were hesitant about the return of their money if they were to produce nonconformist films. On the other hand the filmmakers who actually belonged to the new wave were fighting to reshape the anti-cinematic taste of the audience back then. Attacking this inclination towards action scenes, sex and melodramas was at the pinnacle of filmmakers’ aims but most of the Iranian cinema-goers at the time were not interested in films that introduced them to new worlds and were looking for films made according to pre-established formulas. Because of the existence of this sort of attitude among Iranian cinema-goers as well as the governmental censorship and limitations of expression, the experiments of nonconformist filmmakers were never able to turn into a consistent movement. In the making of the ABSTRACT Iranian main-stream cinema in the 1330s, 40s and 50s was heavily influenced by the imported culture from either the west or the east. Public interest in second-rate or third-rate Indian and American films caused commercial movies made for the box-office to base their narration style and aesthetics on the idea of pure entertainment, hence emptying it from any hint of Iranian history, civilization or culture. In this environment, filmmakers such as Farrokh Ghaffari, Ebrahim Golestan and Fereydoon Rahnama started making films like Night of the Hunchback, The Brick and the Mirror and Siavash at Persepolis, presented a new, different and unconventional image of the country’s cinematic productions in which nationalism, faith, history and culture were the main concerns. This special view towards cinema caused the works of these masters to become like mirrors held up to the Iranian society, history and culture and this was the basis for an avant-garde cinema in Iran before the Islamic Revolution. Keywords: Cinema- Islamic Revolution- Farrokh Ghaffari- Ebrahim Golestan- Fereydoon Rahnama