Women Without Men

WOMEN WITHOUT MEN, the first feature-length film by Iranian video artist Shirin Neshat, won the prize for best director at the Venice Film Festival. Although she works in New York, Shirin's art explores issues relating to her native Iran, especially with respect to the position of women. Her photographs and videos, which have been included in many international exhibitions and have received numerous awards, communicate universal ideas about loss, meaning, and memory. Not surprisingly, WOMEN WITHOUT MEN is a stunningly beautiful film – much of it shot in black and white. The narrative interweaves the lives of four women during the summer of 1953, a pivotal moment in Iranian history when an American-led coup brought down the democratically elected Prime Minister and reinstalled the Shah to power. Each of the characters suffers from social, cultural, or sexual oppression. Their lives mysteriously converge in an orchard where they attempt to create their own utopian society. The film creates a stark portrait of how difficult life was, and still can be, for Muslim women. (In Persian with subtitles) –B.B.