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Film Studies: National Cinemas

This guide highlights selected resources for various national cinemas.

Introduction to Iranian film

Iran’s involvement with cinema began in the 1890s, with filmed records of royal events commissioned by the then monarch (see actualities); the first public cinemas opened at the start of the 20th century. Locally-produced feature films did not appear until the 1930s, however: a silent comedy, Abi va Rabi/Abi and Rabi (Avanes Ohanian) was released in 1930; and the same director made Haji Aqa, actor-e cinema/Haji, the Movie Actor (1932), on a persistent theme in Iranian cinema, the conflict between modernity and religious tradition. The first Persian-language talkie, Dokhtar-e Lor/The Lor Girl, directed in India by Iranian expatriate Ardeshir M. Irani, was released in 1933. During these years audiences were drawn largely from the metropolitan upper classes, and cinema screens were dominated by US and European films, a state of affairs prompting pressure on exhibitors from religious groups troubled about the spread of Western morals.    ...

Kuhn, A., & Westwell, G. (2020). Iran, film in. In A Dictionary of Film Studies. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 20 May. 2021

Searching the online catalog

You can use the subject heading below to find resources in the online catalog. The call number range is also included.

Introductory reading(s)

Selected book title(s)

Finding scholarly articles & journal title(s)

Our collection does not have journals that cover Iranian cinema exclusively. You can use Film & Television Literature Index to find articles or use the search box at the top of the page.

Selected movie titles

Find more Iranian films in the library's collections.

Internet resource(s)

Keeping up with the journal literature

Want an easy way to keep up with the journal literature for a national or regional cinema? And you use a mobile device? You can install the BrowZine app and create a custom Bookshelf of your favorite journal titles. Then you will get the Table of Contents (ToCs) of your favorite journals automatically delivered to you when they become available. Once you have the ToC's you can download and read the articles you want.

You can get the app from the App Store or Google Play.

Don't own or use a mobile device? You can still use BrowZine! It's now available in a web version. You can get to it here. The web version works the same way as the app version. Find the journals you like, create a custom Bookshelf, get ToCs and read the articles you want.