• Director(s):

    VECCHIET (JEAN MICHEL)

  • Producer(s):

    ARTE FRANCE

  • Territories:

    Worldwide.

  • Production year:

    2008

  • Language(s):

    German, English, French

  • Rights:

    TV, DVD, NON-THEATRICAL, INTERNET, VOD

Over the course of a century, these images narrate the thwarted destiny of a pivotal nation, caught between archaism and modernity, secularity and religion, submissiveness and independence, East and West.

A crossroad country, a nation divided, Iran is on the rise after a century of political upheaval. The nuclear crisis has revealed to the world its goal: to become a world power.

For the first time ever, this film will look back over 100 years of Iranian history to the veritable wellsprings of the confrontation between Iran and the western powers.

From 1908 to 2008, from the discovery of oil reserves to the nuclear crisis, we present a spectacular voyage to the heart of a country and a people, a colorful fresco focusing on real-life stories, unveiling archive images and authentic documents, and giving eyewitnesses - Iranian men and women - a chance to speak. A crisscrossing gaze, free of both prejudice and compromise: how they see us, how we see them.

Access has been granted to Iranian national audiovisual archives. Rare footage has also been collected in various sources across Europe, Russia and the United States.