ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Azin Feizabadi's Film Project Chronicles from Majnun until Layla Explores Iranian History Through a Virtual Museum

artist · 2026-04-19

Azin Feizabadi's cinematic endeavor, Chronicles from Majnun until Layla, unfolds in three unique phases. The first phase, The Museum of Modern Iranian History, was created between 2011 and 2013. It features a virtual museum that reinterprets Iran's historical eras into Kairos, challenging traditional Chronos and analytical historiography. This museum's design, influenced by a high school textbook's official Iranian narrative, aids in this temporal transformation. Currently in development is the second phase, Layla and Majnun. The concluding phase will be a feature-length hybrid film combining fiction and documentary elements, also in preparation. This film portrays a couple visiting the virtual museum, engaging in dialogue that intertwines personal and collective narratives with significant moments from Iran's history. Each phase adopts distinct approaches and formats, with the first two laying the groundwork for the final film. The article appeared on ARTMargins Online on February 5, 2014, and is available through MIT Press on a subscription basis.

Key facts

  • The film project is titled Chronicles from Majnun until Layla.
  • It is structured in three stages: The Museum of Modern Iranian History (2011–2013), Layla and Majnun (in preparation), and The Film (in preparation).
  • The final stage will be a feature-length hybrid fiction/documentary film.
  • The film depicts a couple visiting a virtual museum of modern Iranian history.
  • The couple appears as themselves and as characters adapted from the classical Middle Eastern love tale of Layla and Majnun.
  • Their dialogue interacts with representations of Iran's major historical moments in the museum.
  • Stage 1 transforms historical periods into Kairos, contradicting Chronos and analytical historiography.
  • The article was published on ARTMargins Online on February 5, 2014.

Entities

Artists

  • Azin Feizabadi

Institutions

  • ARTMargins Online
  • MIT Press

Locations

  • Iran

Sources