The Films of Rakhshan Banietemad: A Gateway into the Representation of Women in Iranian Cinema

Khosroshahi, Zahra (2019) The Films of Rakhshan Banietemad: A Gateway into the Representation of Women in Iranian Cinema. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

This thesis explores film director Rakhshan Banietemad’s films as a gateway into the representation of women in Iranian cinema. Looking at a distinctive Iranian filmmaker, I examine the visualisation of women, their stories, experiences and bodies since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 to present. In addition, my work focuses on the importance of cinema as an agent for social change, thinking about how films actively shape the dialogue for resistance in a place like Iran. Divided into four chapters, this dissertation relies on a diverse methodological approach, using films as case studies to think about gender politics on the Islamic screen. The first chapter ‘zooms’ in and relies on a focused character study to establish Banietemad’s complex treatment and representation of women. In the second chapter, I look at the depiction of love as taboo, and the possibilities of the cinematic form in combatting censorship restrictions to bring ideas around sexual desire to the screen. The third chapter turns to motherhood and its portrayal in Banietemad’s films, looking at how the role is challenged to complicate the stereotypical notions and binaries often associated with the mother figure. The final chapter of the thesis considers the idea of the collective. Here, I examine the role of storytelling as a mode of survival. In addition, throughout the thesis, I emphasise the significance of Banietemad’s resistance and activism. Despite social, political and cinematic restrictions, she chooses to remain in Iran. And finally, I content that Banietemad’s depiction of gender politics creates a space for wider criticism of Iran’s social and state politics. Her films I argue offer a bold criticism of Iran’s systems of power, but also through a complex and refreshing representation of women characters, these films dismantle the stereotypes associated with the non-Western/Muslim woman for an international audience.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Art, Media and American Studies (former - to 2024)
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	12 Aug 2025 14:15
Last Modified:	12 Aug 2025 14:15
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/100135
DOI:

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