Yesterday’s screening of the film Persepolis was very well attended, a testimony to the large interest in Iran following the country’s contended elections. The film screening was followed by a debate on ‘Post-election violence’, focusing on the particularities of the Iranian case, the comparison between the 1979 and 2009 upheavals in Iran, as well as the more general question of what it is that makes or breaks revolutions.
This seminar was a CSCW event in the context of the National Science Week ('Forskningsdagene'). The panel that debated the film was led by Scott, and included Mehda Ghalegolabi, a Norwegian-Iranian journalist; Kari Vogt, Professor in the History of Religion at UiO; and myself. Questions from the audience ranged from ‘is this a genuine depiction of the Iranian experience?’ (to Mehdi), to ‘why is the key role of the West undercommunicated?’ (to all) and ‘is the Iranian government turning more repressive, and if so, will it succeed? (to all). A well-informed – and informative debate.
The film part of this was taken care of by Oslo Dokumentarkino, a highly valued collaborator. The CSCW film seminar during the National Science Week is now a long-standing tradition. Here PRIO and the CSCW reach beyond our everyday audience. Discussions about which film to screen next year are already on.
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