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"I've always thought it is extremely important to remember that Iran is heir to a rich and vibrant culture of enormous age, depth and resilience," says director Robert Adanto.
 
A documentary filmmaker, Adanto will visit McKeesport tomorrow to present a screening of his second feature-length film, Pearls on the Ocean Floor, at Penn State Greater Allegheny.

The event at 12:15 p.m. in the Student Community Center on the McKeesport campus is free and open to the public. A discussion with the director will follow the film.
 
With Pearls, Adanto explores the complexity of modern Iranian culture by focusing on female artists and the visual imagery they create.
 
"Given the tragic events that followed the disputed election of 2009, I felt there was no better time than the present to examine this nation at a crossroads," says Adanto, in a statement emailed to the Almanac. "(And) it is women who have collectively bore the brunt of an oppressive regime and the bias of a western media that has repeatedly constructed one-dimensional images portraying them as humorless, repressed, second-class citizens in black chadors."
 
During the twelve months of production, interviews were completed in New York, London, Berlin, Frankfurt, Leipzig, San Francisco and Tehran. However, providing an opportunity for the women featured in the film wasn't without risk to the artists.

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"Every woman featured in the film chose to appear without 'hijab' (the traditional Muslim head scarf for women), an act which is in violation of the current regime's interpretation of Shariah law," Adanto says. One of the artists depicted was living in Europe. When her visa expired, she was afraid to return to Iran because of the some of the things she said in the film, and wound up seeking asylum, he says.

In addition to creating a documentary that endeavors to "combat the ignorance and visceral animosity that most Americans have for Iran" the filmmaker himself discovered some surprising perspectives.

"Most Iranians view the recent anti-government protests as part of a continuum that dates back to at least 1906, when a popular uprising against a decadent monarchy led to Iran's first parliament," Adanto says. "It is interesting to note that there is a common defense of the 1979 revolution, and that most of the artists argue that the Revolution lost its way rather than having been from the start a huge step backwards."

He finds that "perplexing," he says, because most of the writings and speeches of the Ayatollah Khomeini "had been very clear about his agenda." During the 80 years before the revolution, Adanto says, Iranian women made great strides towards gender equality.

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"They fought and gained access to education in 1910, the abolition of the veil in 1936, and the right to vote in 1962," he says. "In 1973, they ended the unequivocal male right to divorce and gained the right to contest for custody of their children. Moreover, by 1976, they had established laws banning polygamy and could demand free abortions. Although total equality was still a long way away, there were great expectations for the 1970s. However, as soon as Ayatollah Khomeini gained control of the country, he rescinded the family laws, which also triggered the first massive demonstration by women."

Adanto's next documentary about art, Darkly Digital & Divine, will examine the "post photographic world" with interviews with some of the most adventurous image-makers working today, including AES +F Group, Erwin Olaf, Ruud van Empel, Oleg Dou, Emily Allchurch, Sabine Pigalle, Julia Fullerton-Batten, Lisa Holden, Tereza Vlckova, Jasper de Bejier, Katerina Belkina and Ester Janssen.

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Jenni Dangel is executive director and co-founder of White Oak-based WIP Arts. Find WIP Arts on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wiparts.org.

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