Tehran: Youngsters Fighting the System
How long will the power of the old men continue. A vital question in Iran. Tehran’s youngsters are tired of the regime since a long time.
Nobody at the bazaar wants to talk about politics. The traders are afraid of hidden spy’s.
Trader at the bazaar:
“Don’t you know, there are many ears around here?” he says
‘Down with the U.S.A.’ was originally a powerful slogan of the Islamic revolution. Today Sassan takes pictures of the government pamphlets as if they were touristic sights.
“This picture shows Ayatholla Hameneyi” Sassan explains, but no comment on politics in front of the camera. Soon he himself wants to immigrate to America.
The university campus is forbidden to be pictured. We shoot it hidden from the car, like Sassan usually does.
Pictures of student-demonstrations. Sassan’s publication plattform is the Internet, an anonymous hosted web site.
Sassan T., 41:
“I have been doing this already since three years, I have published approximately 30.000 pictures;7.000 people are visiting my web-site daily. Mostly exiled Iranians are interested in recent images from Iran showing our everyday life here.”
The Internet changed a lot in Iran, also in the usually censored music-sector. The Tehran cult band ‘O-Hum’ – which means vision – has a wide fan community. Khaled loves their Internet clips.
A Female is taking off her headscarf; this is a usually totally forbidden picture in the state of god.
There are a lot of underground bands in Tehran. Hidden in the basement of an apartment-complex: a small, soundproof rehearsal room. Khaled works on his percussions every day. He dreams of an own, public band.
Khaled S., 21
“We are trying to introduce this music to people. So that maybe somehow, some day these bands would come on stage, would have fans, would introduce their music to people.”
Behind the fassades Iran is changing daily. In this building a dentist will open his practice soon.
In the meantime Yelda and Nezehat use the space of their dentist-friend as a place for Karate training.
Overcoming aggression, making noise, is important to them. In this private place, we may film Yelda without her headscarf. She is 27, a lawyer, owns the black belt in Karate and is highly frustrated with life in Iran.
Yelda F., 27
“I do Karate, Body-building and Ballet. It gives a feeling of balance and power. Harmony and speed are objectives that are providing balance not only to the e body but also to the mind. This is maybe a reason why so many women are doing it here.”
A typical shopping mall of the middle class. Beside the long robes there are also stylish evening dresses which maybe worn by females at home. Wearing the headscarf is a burden that keeps many at home. After her graduation as a lawyer Yelda sold wedding decoration in the shop of her parents for five years, she wasn’t allowed to work by her family.
The Karate studio got a space to develop power and energy. Two times a week the women train others. But Yelda made up her mind. She will leave Iran this summer to work as a lawyer abroad.
How long will the power of the old men continue. A vital question in Iran. Tehran’s youngsters are tired of the regime since a long time.
Nobody at the bazaar wants to talk about politics. The traders are afraid of hidden spy’s.
Trader at the bazaar:
“Don’t you know, there are many ears around here?” he says
‘Down with the U.S.A.’ was originally a powerful slogan of the Islamic revolution. Today Sassan takes pictures of the government pamphlets as if they were touristic sights.
“This picture shows Ayatholla Hameneyi” Sassan explains, but no comment on politics in front of the camera. Soon he himself wants to immigrate to America.
The university campus is forbidden to be pictured. We shoot it hidden from the car, like Sassan usually does.
Pictures of student-demonstrations. Sassan’s publication plattform is the Internet, an anonymous hosted web site.
Sassan T., 41:
“I have been doing this already since three years, I have published approximately 30.000 pictures;7.000 people are visiting my web-site daily. Mostly exiled Iranians are interested in recent images from Iran showing our everyday life here.”
The Internet changed a lot in Iran, also in the usually censored music-sector. The Tehran cult band ‘O-Hum’ – which means vision – has a wide fan community. Khaled loves their Internet clips.
A Female is taking off her headscarf; this is a usually totally forbidden picture in the state of god.
There are a lot of underground bands in Tehran. Hidden in the basement of an apartment-complex: a small, soundproof rehearsal room. Khaled works on his percussions every day. He dreams of an own, public band.
Khaled S., 21
“We are trying to introduce this music to people. So that maybe somehow, some day these bands would come on stage, would have fans, would introduce their music to people.”
Behind the fassades Iran is changing daily. In this building a dentist will open his practice soon.
In the meantime Yelda and Nezehat use the space of their dentist-friend as a place for Karate training.
Overcoming aggression, making noise, is important to them. In this private place, we may film Yelda without her headscarf. She is 27, a lawyer, owns the black belt in Karate and is highly frustrated with life in Iran.
Yelda F., 27
“I do Karate, Body-building and Ballet. It gives a feeling of balance and power. Harmony and speed are objectives that are providing balance not only to the e body but also to the mind. This is maybe a reason why so many women are doing it here.”
A typical shopping mall of the middle class. Beside the long robes there are also stylish evening dresses which maybe worn by females at home. Wearing the headscarf is a burden that keeps many at home. After her graduation as a lawyer Yelda sold wedding decoration in the shop of her parents for five years, she wasn’t allowed to work by her family.
The Karate studio got a space to develop power and energy. Two times a week the women train others. But Yelda made up her mind. She will leave Iran this summer to work as a lawyer abroad.