So I know I have mentioned the Sydney Film Festival in my blog already but I have to tell you about this film I saw as part of the festival and that I hope gets a general release here in Oz.

The film is "Women without men" by Shirin Neshat. I was totally blown away by this films honesty and brutality. I went with friend of mine who worked with a guy in the philippines who was Iranian and a film maker and was exiled from Iran for making communitst films and was previously jailed for making these films. I think having known of someone in that situation made the film even more powerful for me and also being in the arts myself and thinking of what it would be like if I was told I could never sing or act again and if I did so I would be jailed or exiled never to return again to my country or my family.

I've just attached below a message from the film maker about the film, please if it does get released here, do yourself a favour and watch it, it's heartbreakingly beautiful.

"Women Without Men captures a pivotal moment in the summer 1953, when the hopes of a nation are crushed by foreign powers in a tragic blow that led to the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Thirty years later, as we look at the young men and women protesting in the streets of Iran in the face of ruthless brutality, we are reminded once again that this struggle is alive and well. I can only hope that Women Without Men will make a small contribution to the vast narrative of Iran’s contemporary history, in reminding us of the voice of a nation that was silenced in 1953 by powers both internal and external and that has risen again." - Shirin Neshat