Iranian dancer flouts government ban in Santa Barbara festival film
- 9 years ago
The 30th Santa Barbara International Film Festival kicked off with the North American premiere of ‘Desert Dancer’, based on the life of Iranian dancer Afshin Ghaffarian.
Set in Iran, the film follows the story of the self-taught dancer, who risked his life to live his dream despite a nationwide ban on dancing. In the volatile climate of the 2009 presidential election, Afshin and a group of friends decide to form an underground dance company.
‘Desert Dancer’ is English film director Richard Raymond’s first feature film:
“I get so many people writing me letters saying, ‘What you shot, I saw from my window.’ ‘What you said happened to Afshin happened to my friend, too.’ But one of the most surprising things is that I also get letters and e-mails from people – or see it on Twitter – people that are not living in Iran, that have been oppressed in different ways, whether it’s their family, whether it’s a financial situation, and they connect with the film as well,” said Raymond at the
Set in Iran, the film follows the story of the self-taught dancer, who risked his life to live his dream despite a nationwide ban on dancing. In the volatile climate of the 2009 presidential election, Afshin and a group of friends decide to form an underground dance company.
‘Desert Dancer’ is English film director Richard Raymond’s first feature film:
“I get so many people writing me letters saying, ‘What you shot, I saw from my window.’ ‘What you said happened to Afshin happened to my friend, too.’ But one of the most surprising things is that I also get letters and e-mails from people – or see it on Twitter – people that are not living in Iran, that have been oppressed in different ways, whether it’s their family, whether it’s a financial situation, and they connect with the film as well,” said Raymond at the