Iranian Cinema with Psychoanalysis

Combining Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, Iranian Shi‘ite thought, and Islamicate sexualities, this book provides an analysis of the logic of desire and sexuality in key films of contemporary Iranian cinema, arguing that there is a profound, albeit surprising, correlation between post-revolutionary Iranian cinema and psychoanalysis.

“Cinema arrived in Iran around the same time it arrived in the rest of the world, but it gave birth to psychoanalysis (or its precursor) centuries before Freud invented it. This is at least what we can surmise from this fascinating book. Kazemi offers a rich and surprising history of the entanglement of Iranian thinkers -- from the medieval ages to the editors of Cahiers du cinema and beyond -- in matters psychic and cinematic. He also provides compelling analyses of films from both the New Iranian Cinema, which emerged with a good deal of fanfare in the 1990s, and a newer, eerie, weird cinema recently unleashed from the constraints of the former.” - Joan Copjec, Brown University

"The book is a pioneering exploration of the intersection between Iranian cinema and psychoanalysis, filling a gap in the literature. It rests on a novel premise, arguing for a significant homology between post-revolutionary Iranian cinema and psychoanalysis relating to their joint concern with repressed sexual desire. Moreover, it demonstrates how despite – or because of – its concern with modesty, Iranian cinema has inadvertently inscribed desire into its formal structures." – Shohini Chaudhuri, Professor in the Department of Literature, Film and Theatre Studies, University of Essex, UK

"Farshid Kazemi’s The Interpreter of Desires is the book that we’ve been waiting for. It’s the first great work on the most important cinema in the world today—Iranian cinema. Kazemi not only reveals what’s at work in key films of the Iranian cinematic wonder but also lays out with remarkable clarity how to think about films anew in psychoanalytic terms. For anyone with the remotest interest in contemporary film, The Interpreter of Desires is an absolute necessity." – Todd McGowan, Professor and Director of Film and Television Studies, University of Vermont, USA

“Cinema arrived in Iran around the same time it arrived in the rest of the world, but it gave birth to psychoanalysis (or its precursor) centuries before Freud invented it. This is at least what we can surmise from this fascinating book. Kazemi offers a rich and surprising history of the entanglement of Iranian thinkers -- from the medieval ages to the editors of Cahiers du cinema and beyond -- in matters psychic and cinematic. He also provides compelling analyses of films from both the New Iranian Cinema, which emerged with a good deal of fanfare in the 1990s, and a newer, eerie, weird cinema recently unleashed from the constraints of the former.” - Joan Copjec, Brown University

"The book is a pioneering exploration of the intersection between Iranian cinema and psychoanalysis, filling a gap in the literature. It rests on a novel premise, arguing for a significant homology between post-revolutionary Iranian cinema and psychoanalysis relating to their joint concern with repressed sexual desire. Moreover, it demonstrates how despite – or because of – its concern with modesty, Iranian cinema has inadvertently inscribed desire into its formal structures." – Shohini Chaudhuri, Professor in the Department of Literature, Film and Theatre Studies, University of Essex, UK

"Farshid Kazemi’s Iranian Cinema with Psychoanalysis is the book that we’ve been waiting for. It’s the first great work on the most important cinema in the world today—Iranian cinema. Kazemi not only reveals what’s at work in key films of the Iranian cinematic wonder but also lays out with remarkable clarity how to think about films anew in psychoanalytic terms. For anyone with the remotest interest in contemporary film, this book is an absolute necessity." – Todd McGowan, Professor and Director of Film and Television Studies, University of Vermont, USA

Farshid Kazemi is Lecturer in Film Studies at the School for the Contemporary Arts, Simon Fraser University, Canada. He holds a PhD in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Edinburgh. His research interests combine an interdisciplinary and theoretical approach to film and media studies, film theory, Iranian studies, and Islamic and Middle Eastern studies. His book on the film A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night was published by Liverpool University Press in 2021.