In the 1960s Iranian cinema blossomed, spawning a new generation of actors and actresses. Their lives have followed different paths after the Iranian Revolution of 1979, a few finding themselves living abroad in a kind of exile, others staying on in the country.

From among those who stayed, many have been more successful in adapting to a changing society, participating in the internationally acclaimed Iran’s movie industry. It is also possible, however, to feel marginalised and driven to the edges of the social order, without an active role or comfortable place of settlement.

Shahrzad is from this latter group, having been a well known actress in the ‘New Wave’ of Iranian cinema which started in the 1960s, and which took the place of widely popular but critically derided ‘song and dance movies’ which went before.

She tells her story, from her beginnings as a 14 year old, singing and dancing in her dad’s café shop, through her years of fame as an actress and writer up until now, out of work and painfully scrabbling even for a place to live.

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