Tehran: Another Side

Tehran: Another Side is a documentary film produced and directed by Sam Ali Kashani. The film is Kashani's directorial debut.
History
Like the majority of Iranian-American families that ultimately settled in California, Sam’s family came to the United States after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Sam, however, was thoroughly American, leading a lifestyle typical of any young Californian. Therefore, his perspective of Iran was much like most Americans, colored by skewed media portrayals of Islamic fundamentalism and images of socio-civic disarray. Yet, the Tehran he observed upon his arrival was anything but what he had seen on the television: the bustling, modern city squares; the influence of Western culture on the adolescents and young professionals, and the vibrant calls for social reform.
While walking the streets of Tehran and commingling with its everyday citizens, Sam brings to the screen faces and stories ignored by the BBC and CNN, freely discussing politics with Iranian college students, taking in the city’s electric night life, and absorbing Tehran’s rich and celebrated history. In his personal quest for understanding, Sam also travel’s through upper Tehran where he makes friends and challenges simplistic notions about America and Americans, visits his ancestors’ burial sites, and engages the growing underground hip-hop scene sweeping through the city.
Iranian Hip-Hop
During the production of Tehran: Another Side, Kashani discovered the rapidly-growing cultural phenomenon known as Persian Hip Hop currently taking place in Tehran. Having grown up in the United States this concept was a bit strange to Sam, at first. Yet with time, he developed a fascination and appreciation for this socio-cultural movement which many young Iranian artists have used to express the issues of daily life in Iran. As a result, Sam would eventually meet two of the most well-known artists and pioneers of Iranian Hip-Hop, Hichkas and Bahram Nouraei, both of whom can be seen in the film. Bahram is the subject of Kashani's most recent documentary film, BAHRAM An Iranian Rapper, an in-depth look into the trials and tribulations faced by hip-hop artists in Iran.
Tehran: Another Side is one of the first films to cover Iranian Hip-Hop, and following its release, Sam Ali Kashani released another short documentary entitled "The Current State of Persian Hip-Hop", which features British-Iranian rapper Reveal discussing the history and status of this music. This film can be seen in its entirety on YouTube.
Reception
Tehran: Another Side premiered at the Iranian Film Festival of Holland in October 2008. Since then it has participated in several international film festivals, including the Iranian Film Festival of San Francisco 2009, as well as being the opening movie at the Noor Film Festival in Los Angeles, in May 2009.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu