A filmmaker, activist, woman, and Iranian, Maryam Tafakory is one of the most promising names in contemporary cinema. Working primarily with found footage and often approaching the form of the audiovisual essay, the director seeks to investigate images and what they conceal. It is perhaps important to quote her working method, which critically emphasizes the production of meaning and the creation of both national imaginaries and invented traditions: “In recent years, I have introduced each of my films with a brief request: that the audience pay attention to what cannot be seen, to reflect on why visibility may be overrated. I am trying to distinguish between the acts of seeing and witnessing, while encouraging viewers to read images with critical paranoia, assuming that something is always missing” (Frieze, 250, 2025).

"Irani Bag" (2020), one of the works featured in the exhibition, described by the author as a “film essay,” is a clear example of a film that addresses a specific issue within post-revolution Iranian cinema: as physical touch—such as between hands or other body parts—is forbidden to be shown, cinema finds alternative ways to dramatize relationships between characters. Hence, the importance of bags and purses, which become tools for physical connection, whether affectionate or violent. Tafakory is thus a filmmaker who seeks to reveal the hidden, showing how human desire transcends all prohibitions.

It could be said that her later films continue, but go far beyond "Irani Bag". "Nazarbazi" (2021), also part of the exhibition, along with "Mast-del" (2023) and "Razeh-del" (2024), each in its way, attempt to reinvent the language of film grounded in the imaginary of a national cinema. Using overlays, negative images, on-screen text, and repeated sequences, these collages deepen the exploration of Iranian society’s contradictions, particularly regarding the roles of women and desire. Frequently incorporating autobiographical details, Maryam Tafakory exposes the delicacy and fragility of desire — especially when it is excluded from official imagery. In doing so, she creates a counter-cinema, asserting a poetic gesture of radical political resistance. A revolutionary cinema drawn from everyday life.

From July 12th to 20th 2025, the 33rd Curtas Vila do Conde – International Film Festival will present a full program dedicated to the director, including a series of screenings combining a partial retrospective of her cinematic work with a Carte Blanche, expanding and interweaving the dialogues and influences suggested by her selections. The program will also feature a guided tour of the exhibition, a performative reading, and an open conversation with the public.

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“I cannot speak about Iranian censorship without also speaking about the discreet, insidious censorship of Palestinian voices across Western cultural institutions. It does not always look like censorship: it looks like postponement, risk assessment, emails that go unanswered, funding and exhibitions that are quietly cancelled, artists that will not be invited again. It looks like silence: “don’t name it”, “don’t risk it”. (...) Not acknowledging the political environment we are in now, is yet another form of complicity. These programs bring together films from across the Middle East — works that do not seek to explain, nor translate. They were made with the urgency to speak up.” 

— Maryam Tafakory