Shirin
Neshat - Film Still from Debut Feature Film, Women Without Men, 2009
Shirin is known primarily for her photography
and video work exploring the complex historical, psychological, and
ever-evolving social and political positions of women in the Islamic world. Previous photographic work includes the
depiction of Iranian women bearing arms and with Persian calligraphy written on
their faces and bodies. After years working in fine art photography and video,
Shirin had the chance to direct her first feature, an adaptation of a
controversial Persian novella by Shahrnush Parsipur set during the 1953
CIA-backed coup that reinstalled the Shah of Iran. The story recounts the lives
of five women set against this socio-political backdrop. Women without Men
opens in the UK in May
