TABOUS (ZOHRE & MANOUCHEHR)

In contemporary Iranian society, all aspects of private life, love and sexuality, are controlled and repressed by religious doctrines, which have formed a dominating political system. How do men and women find ways to fulfil their love and sexuality in a society full of prohibitions and injunctions, where holding hands is already considered a sin?

This sensational documentary gives voice to different members of Iranian society, from women who have found a way to have sexual relationships before marriage to religious fanatics condemning masturbation. It contains fictional scenes from Zohre & Manoucher, an erotic poem by 19^th century Iranian writer Iraj Mirza which respects the formal rules of Iranian verse. As Mitra Farahani puts it: "Today, if you ask an Iranian to define love, their response will inevitably be a poetic reference. Poetry is of fundamental importance in Iran. […] It is impossible to speak of love, and therefore of sexuality, without speaking in terms of poetry." The poetic sequences show how Iranian culture, religion and the art of love are not necessarily contradictory and could well exist in harmony if one let them.

"I wanted to reveal via the fictional and documentary elements, the contradiction between a society once so well-versed in combining culture, Islam and the art of loving, and an environment today whereby a couple who embrace are forced to ask themselves if they are committing a grave sin." (Mitra Faharani)

http://www.tabous-lefilm.com