This talk will explore the ways Iranian Jews get to assert their place. With the establishment of the Islamic Republic, Muslim identity became almost synonymous with the possibility of identifying as Iranian. Yet, religious minorities exist in Iran today and are on a constant journey and struggle to find their voice and agency in the country. The pressures Iranian Jews face are unique but comparable to the ones faced by Armenians and Zoroastrians. This talk will offer ways to read the Jewish and other minorities in the context of contemporary Iranian society. Lior Sternfeld is an associate professor of history and Jewish Studies at Penn State Unversity, and the author of  “Between Iran and Zion: Jewish Histories of Twentieth-Century Iran,” (Stanford University Press, 2018).

This film will be shown again on Wednesday, April 19 at 1:30 pm, and Wednesday, April 26 at 9:40 pm. Houman Seyedi’s World War III, a searing social critique, captivated audiences at the 2022 La Biennale di Venezia, and was Iran’s surprise entry to this year’s Academy Awards. Shakib (Mohsen Tanabandeh) is a homeless man with a tragic past. He spends most of his time as a day worker, taking any job he can get to earn enough money to spend time with a prostitute he has come to love. His most recent job is at a construction site, which turns out to be the set of a film production about Nazi atrocities. Shakib and many of his co-workers are coerced into being extras in the film, and then, by way of an accident, Shakib is cast against his will as Adoph Hitler, sending him down a fateful and treacherous path.

This film will be shown again on Thursday, April 20 at 1:40 pm. Faced with a setback on one of her own films, Mitra Farahani works as a sort-of cinematic matchmaker, orchestrating a correspondence between beloved Iranian filmmaker Ebrahim Golestan and the legendary Jean-Luc Godard. Through persistence, talent, and luck, Farahani brings the initially reluctant filmmakers together through emails, photos, videos and letters.

In September 2022, a rare social uprising rocked one of the most tense and complicated regions of the world. What came to be known as the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement highlighted the bravery and resilience of the Iranian people, especially the women who defied entrenched patriarchal structures to claim their trampled rights. This moment of social evolution in Iran represents a unique opportunity for the people of Iran and the United States to engage in a new dialogue, understand each other better and bridge the gaps in relations between their two countries. Join Global Minnesota for an in-depth discussion with Iranian journalist Kourosh Ziabari at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.  About Kourosh: