During the Rencontres d’Arles 2017, Iran had the place of honour with the Iran Year 38 exhibition, the showing of a documentary on July 3rd and a previously unseen web series on the creative and courageous Iranian photographic scene. These short films, produced by ARTE and broadcast on the Franco-German channel, present an unexpected and committed look at a country torn between modernity and tradition.
Through the eyes of ten young photographers born after the 1979 Islamic revolution, the web series talks about today’s Iran, about its youth, about its vitality. In a country where culture and art remain the domain of the state, despite the constraints and the difficulties, these photographers have chosen to stay in their country, out of pride and passion for their culture. For them, photography is a tool of expression but also a means of re-appropriating their identity, far from western clichés. Between creativity and censure, in this web series, these photographers share, unfiltered, the desires and dreams of their generation.
In partnership with ARTE, the Eye of Photography is offering you the chance to see these videos, which last about five minutes each, one by one.
Today it’s Ako Salemi’s video, entitled Street Photography.
After scouring the streets of Tehran while he was a professional photographer, Ako Salemi swapped his camera for a smartphone and, since then, has practiced street photography. In a very tense political climate, the use of a mobile phone allows him to work without official permission and to distribute his photos on social networks. An international success.
Street Photography by Ako Salemi from L’Oeil de la photographie on Vimeo.
