Hello everyone,
I read with heavy heart and growing disdain the reports of yesterday’s attacks on Iran by U.S. and Israeli military forces. While official reports focus on “military bases and leadership compounds,” the reality on the ground includes the confirmed death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the tragic loss of over 100 schoolgirls at an elementary school near a targeted site.
So, it begins.
I could write at length about the geopolitical fallout of these events, but instead, I want to talk about what this means for my upcoming eBook, ‘Cine Persia: Voices of Iranian Cinema.’
Iran has been in the crosshairs of the West long before Donald Trump’s return to office. However, since his inauguration, the rhetoric and military action have shifted into high gear—marked by the return of the travel ban and this latest round of strikes. Cine Persia was born out of a desire to provide a necessary counter-narrative to the portrayal of Iran as merely a “rogue state.” My goal has always been to showcase Iranian voices, their narratives, and their fundamental humanity.
When Western leaders speak of “regime change,” an entire society is often reduced to a “security problem” or a “threat.” There is a sharp irony in claiming to “help” a people while framing their existence through the lens of war. I believe that art, storytelling, and cinema are the most urgent forms of resistance against such reductive portrayals.
Far from being mouthpieces for a regime, Iranian filmmakers make visible the humanity that exists behind the political headlines. Their works centre on the personal: stories of love, exile, loss, and resilience. Films like Motherland and Hamdardi give faces and histories to a people frequently described only in broad, abstract political language.
At a time when the Iranian people are once again thrust into the centre of a global conflict, their voices must be preserved and amplified. Moving beyond geopolitical analysis, Cine Persia has taken on an urgent mission: to place Iranian voices back into a human context through the art they create about themselves and their world.
For every headline, there are millions of stories involving families, laughter, grief, and dreams. My goal for Cine Persia is to ensure those voices are the ones that linger long after the news cycle moves on.
Thanks for reading Ramon Writes! This post is public so feel free to share it.
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