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Iranian Film: Two Women (Du Zan)

Two Women
April 5, 2016
All Day
Thompson Library, Room 165

"A sensation when released in 1999 in Iran, Two Women charts the lives of two promising architecture students over the course of the first turbulent years of the Islamic Republic. Tahimine Milani creates this scathing portrait of those traditions - aided by official indifference - which conspire to trap women and stop them from realizing their full potential; the inclusion of frank depictions of domestic violence was hailed by many as a breakthrough in dealing with a long taboo subject." --Anonymous

“Two Women” explores the daily life of a woman in post-revolutionary Iran and touches on how her duties, appearance, behavior, and interactions are all representative of her subjection in a patriarchal society. The feminist message presented by writer and director Tahmineh Milani is so unusual for Iranian films that it took seven years for the screenplay to be approved by state censors.
 
This film won the Best Screenplay award at Iran's Fajr Film Festival in 1999  as well as the Best Actress (Niki Karimi) award in the Taormina International Film Festival in 1999.
 

The film will be introduced by Dr. Mehrak Kamali. Dr. Kamali has earned his PhD in Near Eastern and Iranian studies from the University of Arizona. His MA and BA are in sociology from Tehran University in Iran. His scientific interests include Persian language and literature as well as Iranian culture. He has written a number of article about Persian literature in English and Persian. He is the coordinator of Persian program in the department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at Ohio State University now.

Co-sponsored by Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, the Library and the Middle East Studies Center.