A special screening of No One Knows About Persian Cats, the powerful film about Iran’s underground music scene, will mark the launch of the Brightwide project at the 53rd London Film Festival on Sunday 25th October.

No One Knows About Persian Cats follows a young boy and girl that form a music group in Tehran after being released from prison. They meet other underground rock musicians – including rappers, metal bands and indie rockers – and attempt to convince them to leave Iran.

The film’s young stars, Ashkan Koshanzad and Negar Sheghahi, who both won awards at Cannes, are currently seeking political asylum in Britain. They are at risk of arrest if they return to Iran in the aftermath of the disputed elections.

The film was co-written by Roxana Saberi, the journalist who was jailed in Iran in 2009 on charges of being a US spy.

Following the screening of Bahman Ghobadi’s critically-acclaimed movie, Brightwide founder Colin Firth will introduce a panel of major contributors from the world of music, arts, politics and human rights campaigning. The experts on the panel include Caspar Llewellyn-Smith, Editor of Observer Music Monthly, Martin Hogdson, Assistant Editor of the Guardian and Rose Issa, Iran arts expert.

The discussion will focus on how the work of politically engaged directors, such as Ghobadi, can accelerate social and political change.

After the screening, Brightwide will keep the debate open and host your comments and reviews online. Site users will be encouraged to take action on the issues tackled in the films they watch, in collaboration with our campaigning organisations.

Screening details
No One Knows About Persian Cats
Place: BFI Southbank, NFT1 Screen.
Time: 1pm

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