"Tehran is the Capital of Iran" by Kamran Shirdel 1966 - 1980

Kamran Shirdel

Kamran Shirdel (born 1939 in Tehran) is a renowned Iranian documentarist. He studied architecture and urbanism at the University of Rome and film direction at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia of Rome, graduating in 1964. He worked as an assistant director with John Huston on The Bible before making his diploma film, Gli Specchi (The Mirrors), in Rome. He returned to Iran and started his career in 1965. He is also the managing director of Filmgrafic Co. Kamran Shirdel was appointed as IL CAVALIERE Della Republica Italiana and received the Medals of LA STELLA DELLA SOLIDARIETA' ITALIANA in a ceremony held in Farmanieh Palace in Tehran on May 2010. (From Wikipedia)

Tehran Is the Capital of Iran (1966-79) documents life in a deprived district in the south of Tehran. The images of destitution in Tehran's poor areas is accompanied by a variety of spoken accounts: the official viewpoint on the district's living conditions, what the inhabitants have to say, and occasional extracts read out of school manuals. The key element in Shirdel's film is the counterpoint effect he creates with image and sound. His impressively powerful portrayal of social unease helps reinforce the impact of his astonishing documentary images and social themes.