Houbara: Visions of Iran (Kurzfilme)

Iranian Short Films: Choreographies of Resistance

In Iran, where it has long been forbidden for women to sing or dance in public, music and movement mostly take place in private spaces and underground networks - and only rarely in public, but always as acts of resistance. In this short film program (documentary, animation, experimental and feature films), sound, song and dance emerge not only as aesthetic forms of expression, but also as testimony to the presence of an absence. Through their voices and bodies, women lend form to a choreography of resistance in which gesture, rhythm and voice carry stories that resist silence.
The short film program was curated by Ghasideh Golmakani as part of a cooperation with the Iranian film festival Visions of Iran. The films are in the original language with English subtitles.

The Dérive, Tanin Torabi, experimental, 7 min, 2017
An exploration of social and cultural issues. A dancer moves among the people in an old bazaar in Tehran capturing the responses and reactions. Dance is prohibited in Iran.

Ballerina, Fiction, Farima Khalili, Soheil Babaei, fiction, 11 min, 2024
Ballerina is the story of an 8-year-old girl who is about to have a dance performance but due to the Iranian rules, her father and other men are prohibited to watch the ballet.

And Me, I’m Dancing Too, Mohammad Valizadegan, fiction, 20 min, 2023
Saba, an Iranian girl, is a dancer. She wants to be indifferent to her surroundings and project this self-being and freedom with her "body". She is in love with the art of dancing, the art of letting go and living away from conventional bonds but the art of being is forbidden in an ultimately religious state who ignores the very basic human rights. The film is an honest portrait of the daily oppression women have to deal with in Iran towards the path to freedom.

Rememberance, Farzaneh Omidvarnia, animation, 2 min, 2026
Two women are mourning on the death of people who passed away during the Iranian demonstrations.

Height of the Kite, Amin Pakparvar, Mehraneh Salimian, documentary, 24 min, 2023
In a rural area of Balochistan, a region on the border of Iran and Pakistan, where women can only sing in private rituals, a teenage girl called Fariba wants to sing like boys in her age in public. Still, the racial discrimination and ban on women's singing prevent her.

Prestige, Zahra Ahooi, fiction, 15 min, 2020
Mahsa is an Iranian TV presenter. She sings and posts her videos on Instagram anonymously. As a result of this, Mahsa faces a challenge during one of her shows. She now needs to decide between leaving the country and losing her job.

Moment and Forever, Yasaman Hasani, animation, 2 min, 2019The Dérive, Tanin Torabi, experimental, 7 min, 2017
An exploration of social and cultural issues. A dancer moves among the people in an old bazaar in Tehran capturing the responses and reactions. Dance is prohibited in Iran.

Ballerina, Fiction, Farima Khalili, Soheil Babaei, fiction, 11 min, 2024
Ballerina is the story of an 8-year-old girl who is about to have a dance performance but due to the Iranian rules, her father and other men are prohibited to watch the ballet.

And Me, I’m Dancing Too, Mohammad Valizadegan, fiction, 20 min, 2023
Saba, an Iranian girl, is a dancer. She wants to be indifferent to her surroundings and project this self-being and freedom with her "body". She is in love with the art of dancing, the art of letting go and living away from conventional bonds but the art of being is forbidden in an ultimately religious state who ignores the very basic human rights. The film is an honest portrait of the daily oppression women have to deal with in Iran towards the path to freedom.

Rememberance, Farzaneh Omidvarnia, animation, 2 min, 2026
Two women are mourning on the death of people who passed away during the Iranian demonstrations.

Height of the Kite, Amin Pakparvar, Mehraneh Salimian, documentary, 24 min, 2023
In a rural area of Balochistan, a region on the border of Iran and Pakistan, where women can only sing in private rituals, a teenage girl called Fariba wants to sing like boys in her age in public. Still, the racial discrimination and ban on women's singing prevent her.

Prestige, Zahra Ahooi, fiction, 15 min, 2020
Mahsa is an Iranian TV presenter. She sings and posts her videos on Instagram anonymously. As a result of this, Mahsa faces a challenge during one of her shows. She now needs to decide between leaving the country and losing her job.

Moment and Forever, Yasaman Hasani, animation, 2 min, 2019The Dérive, Tanin Torabi, experimental, 7 min, 2017
An exploration of social and cultural issues. A dancer moves among the people in an old bazaar in Tehran capturing the responses and reactions. Dance is prohibited in Iran.

Ballerina, Fiction, Farima Khalili, Soheil Babaei, fiction, 11 min, 2024
Ballerina is the story of an 8-year-old girl who is about to have a dance performance but due to the Iranian rules, her father and other men are prohibited to watch the ballet.

And Me, I’m Dancing Too, Mohammad Valizadegan, fiction, 20 min, 2023
Saba, an Iranian girl, is a dancer. She wants to be indifferent to her surroundings and project this self-being and freedom with her "body". She is in love with the art of dancing, the art of letting go and living away from conventional bonds but the art of being is forbidden in an ultimately religious state who ignores the very basic human rights. The film is an honest portrait of the daily oppression women have to deal with in Iran towards the path to freedom.

Rememberance, Farzaneh Omidvarnia, animation, 2 min, 2026
Two women are mourning on the death of people who passed away during the Iranian demonstrations.

Height of the Kite, Amin Pakparvar, Mehraneh Salimian, documentary, 24 min, 2023
In a rural area of Balochistan, a region on the border of Iran and Pakistan, where women can only sing in private rituals, a teenage girl called Fariba wants to sing like boys in her age in public. Still, the racial discrimination and ban on women's singing prevent her.

Prestige, Zahra Ahooi, fiction, 15 min, 2020
Mahsa is an Iranian TV presenter. She sings and posts her videos on Instagram anonymously. As a result of this, Mahsa faces a challenge during one of her shows. She now needs to decide between leaving the country and losing her job.

Moment and Forever, Yasaman Hasani, animation, 2 min, 2019The Dérive, Tanin Torabi, experimental, 7 min, 2017
An exploration of social and cultural issues. A dancer moves among the people in an old bazaar in Tehran capturing the responses and reactions. Dance is prohibited in Iran.

Ballerina, Fiction, Farima Khalili, Soheil Babaei, fiction, 11 min, 2024
Ballerina is the story of an 8-year-old girl who is about to have a dance performance but due to the Iranian rules, her father and other men are prohibited to watch the ballet.

And Me, I’m Dancing Too, Mohammad Valizadegan, fiction, 20 min, 2023
Saba, an Iranian girl, is a dancer. She wants to be indifferent to her surroundings and project this self-being and freedom with her "body". She is in love with the art of dancing, the art of letting go and living away from conventional bonds but the art of being is forbidden in an ultimately religious state who ignores the very basic human rights. The film is an honest portrait of the daily oppression women have to deal with in Iran towards the path to freedom.

Rememberance, Farzaneh Omidvarnia, animation, 2 min, 2026
Two women are mourning on the death of people who passed away during the Iranian demonstrations.

Height of the Kite, Amin Pakparvar, Mehraneh Salimian, documentary, 24 min, 2023
In a rural area of Balochistan, a region on the border of Iran and Pakistan, where women can only sing in private rituals, a teenage girl called Fariba wants to sing like boys in her age in public. Still, the racial discrimination and ban on women's singing prevent her.

Prestige, Zahra Ahooi, fiction, 15 min, 2020
Mahsa is an Iranian TV presenter. She sings and posts her videos on Instagram anonymously. As a result of this, Mahsa faces a challenge during one of her shows. She now needs to decide between leaving the country and losing her job.

Moment and Forever, Yasaman Hasani, animation, 2 min, 2019
This film about a woman fighting for her freedom and her identity. While dancing through the whispering silhouette of men, she goes her way undaunted.