This book examines the close and volatile relationship between a highly popular art form, the production of culture and the politics of power in society. Through a critical analysis the book reveals the social and political context of Iran's national cinema under the Islamic Republic. It tracks the emergence of Iranian cinema since the Islamic Revolution, as Makhmalbaf, one of Iran's most influential filmmakers, and a committed artist whose work is provocative and never far from controversy, sought to engage the dramatic social and political upheavals that have taken place over the past twenty-four years. Makhmalbaf's films have always been reflexive meditations on the nature of cinema and art within a society, and Makhmalbaf's art, as part of that system provides a view of film as an extension of its political environment.
Eric Egan studied at Trinity College, Dublin and earned an M.A. in Cinema Studies and a Ph.D. in Iranian Cinema at Nottingham Trent University in England. he has published articles on cinema in Iran, Pakistan, and Egypt, as well as on cultural policy and the media in developing countries. He is currently working on a book on Irish-Iranian relations. He lives in Dublin.