Looking to know more about Iran's rich culture and conditions of life? Are you part of a film club or book club, or teach a class? Here is an initial list of literature and movies to experience and share -- a work in progress.
IEC is honored to share a new cultural magazine, Bamdad Bidar, launched by Evin prisoners in a journey of resistance and hope.
The title in Farsi has multiple meetings. “Bamdad” often signifies a new day. It is also the time that executions are carried out in Iran, the punctuation point to their cellmates’ all-night vigil. The word “Bidar” means “Awake,” but when used as two words, “Bi Dar,” it means "No Noose." Our translation as “Awaken at Dawn / No to Nooses” aims to convey the richness heard by readers of the Farsi.
Bamdad Bidar #1 was first posted online and announced by @bambdadbidar on X on May 19. IEC volunteers have translated it to English.
The magazine is a work of art and heart from prisoners in Evin Prison. It is full of visceral and poetic words, with hand-drawn illustrations full of the pain and rage of injustice but also full of humanity and the joy of righteous resistance.
Bamdad Bidar is a remarkable achievement for such a collective intellectual and cultural work to be produced anywhere, but especially from behind the walls of a hellhole dungeon called Evin.
1The text of our Farsi versions available above is identical to the original pdf posted by BamdadBidar with a slight enhancement to the original background illustrations for visibility and a print version with margins. We post them here for readers' and printers' convenience.
2Use the "Download for-print files" to make a booklet. Print 2-sided on 8.5" x11" paper. Large inner margin for binding.
"The Seed of the Sacred Fig" by Mohammad Rasoulof (IMDb)
“The Day I Became a Woman” by Marzieh Meshkini (IMDb)
“Taxi”, “No Bears”, and “The Circle” by Jafar Panahi (IMDb)
“There is no Evil” by Mohammad Rasoulof (IMDb)
“The Color of Paradise” and “Baran” by Majid Majidi (IMDb)
“Turtles Can Fly” a Kurdish war drama by Bahman Ghobadi (IMDb)
“Holy Spider” by Ali Abassi (IMDb)
“Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi (IMDb)
“A Separation” by Asghar Farhadi (IMDb)
“Leila’s Brothers” by Saeed Roustayi (IMDb)
“Nasrin” by Jeff Kaufman and Marcia Ross
“The Secret Fatwa” by Delnaz Abadi
“Coup 53” by Taghi Amirani
“Born in Evin” by Maryam Zaree
“Hitch, an Iranian Story” (French) by Chowra Makaremi
“Voices of a Massacre: Untold Stories of Life and Death in Iran 1988” by Nasser Mohajer Rev Books
“We Live to Tell: Political Prison Memoirs of Iranian Women” by Asadeh Agah
“No Friend but the Mountains, writings from Manus Prison” by Behrouz Boochani (Rev Books)
"White Torture", by Narges Mohammadi (Rev Books)
“The Siege of Azadi Square” by Manny Shirazi (Amazon)
“Daughters of Smoke and Fire” by Ava Homa (Rev Books)
“Persepolis” graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, 20th anniv. edition (Rev Books)
“Children of the Jacaranda Tree” by Sahar Deligani (Rev Books)
