Maryam Tafakory's Queer Feminist Films Reconfigure Iranian Cinema's Violent Archive
Maryam Tafakory, an Iranian artist based in London, produces innovative films that utilize archival material from Iranian cinema post-1979. In her 2023 piece, مست دل Mast-del, she enhances visuals with modern compositions, such as those by Sarah Davachi. Her queer feminist lens challenges both Iranian modesty norms and Western cinematic theories, particularly Laura Mulvey's ideas on voyeurism. Works like نظربازی Nazarbazi (2022) and کیف ایرانی Irani Bag (2020) feature texts from thinkers like Barthes, Derrida, Yushij, and Farrokhzad. The دل Del series, which includes مست دل Mast-del (2023) and راز دل Razeh-del (2024), examines violence against women through techniques like mirroring and color alteration. Tafakory has been nominated for the Film London Jarman Award 2024, with her exhibition traveling across the UK until 3 December.
Key facts
- Maryam Tafakory is a London-based Iranian filmmaker using archival footage from post-1979 Iranian cinema
- Her films employ a queer feminist gaze to critique Iranian modesty codes and Western film theory
- Tafakory's 2023 film مست دل Mast-del features a score by Canadian composer Sarah Davachi
- She is nominated for the Film London Jarman Award 2024 with an exhibition touring the UK through 3 December
- Her work references fifteenth-century Iranian poet Hafiz, recontextualized in post-revolution state media
- Tafakory sources material from her personal archive and YouTube, rearranging hundreds of film fragments
- Films like کیف ایرانی Irani Bag (2020) examine bags as props in postrevolutionary Iranian cinema
- The دل Del series includes مست دل Mast-del (2023) and راز دل Razeh-del (2024), employing mirroring and color manipulations
Entities
Artists
- Maryam Tafakory
- Sarah Davachi
- Laura Mulvey
- Kamal Tabrizi
- Negar Mottahedeh
- Roland Barthes
- Jacques Derrida
- Nima Yushij
- Forough Farrokhzad
- Masud Kimiai
- Ali Abbasi
- Fereydoun Jeyrani
- Dariush Mehrjui
- Hafiz
- Avery Gordon
- Gelare Khoshgozaran
Institutions
- Film London Jarman Award
- ArtReview
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Iran
- Los Angeles
- Canada
- France