Osa Archivum Catalog

Empire of Evil

Summary: Young Mahtab dreams of a career as a singer. But as a woman, it is not easy for her to succeed in the music business of contemporary Iran. To be able to make her greatest wish come true, she has to assert herself in the struggle against the Iranian law which prohibits female singers from performing in public as soloists. The passionate fencer Setayesh is facing similar difficulties. Though she is very successful in her discipline, female sports receive no sponsorship in Iran. Moreover, she is often prevented from taking part in international competitions, due to the effective Islamic dress code. For this reason Setayesh dreams of emigrating to the US, together with her husband Mehdi, a professional athlete like her, to start a new life there. A sharp contrast to these women is represented by the two male protagonists of the film: Abbas is a member of the notorious Basiji, the pro-Islamic militia of Iran. Mr. Meidani runs a private language school to bring the teachings of Islam closer to believers. Both have already clearly decided on which side of the system they want to place themselves. The fifth protagonist of the film is little Golsa who, still in the phase of getting acquainted with the rules of Iranian society, does not yet have to worry about social constraints, but is growing up to be highly influenced by them.

Item Type	Current Location	Call Number	Status	Shelving Location	Public Note
DVD-ROM	OSA Film Library	FL Record 2071	Available	-	-
Digital film	OSA Film Library	FL Record 2071 (HU_OSA_00003729.mp4)	Available		Access Copy, MP4 format