“That’s a good thing about a hijab...You can hide a microphone in it."
March 16, 2015 5:22 AM   Subscribe

"No Land's Song" is a documentary about Iranian singer and composer Sara Najafi's fight to host a concert of solo women singers in Tehran. Nothing like it had been attempted in Iran for 35 years: after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, women were banned from singing solo in public.
“After every meeting at the ministry, I said, ‘OK, it won’t happen.’" But then she’d have a meeting with her Iranian singers – some old enough to have performed before the revolution, others too young to remember a time when women were allowed to sing at all – and decide to fight on.
It is being shown at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival. Excerpt - Vimeo link.
posted by billiebee (2 comments total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
Although female singing is banned in Iran and actually putting on a concert seems quite daunting as the links suggest, I noticed lots of people listening to female singers in their cars (also putatively banned), including my driver while I was traveling there, who was quite devout and religious. Also, obviously, inside peoples' apartments, we listened to and watched whatever we wanted. Such a bizarre dichotomy, to have to observe these rules in public, then have no compunctions about violating them wherever you could close a door or window. An extremely different public and private sphere and, consequently, a public and private self. As a non-Persian American, it really stood out to me.
posted by Falconetti at 1:35 PM on March 16, 2015


Fascinating story--I've been waiting all day to get a chance to watch the clip. I don't have an appreciation for the music but I do very much appreciate the work that it took to get the concert, the people, and the music together. Thanks, billiebee!
posted by librarylis at 8:46 PM on March 16, 2015


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