Iran Coming Soon

Young and wide country, Iran today tries to emerge from almost 50 years of obscurantism after decades of manipulated information that classified it as "rogue state". A country that was part of George Bush's "Axis of Evil" and that was recently cleared by Barack Obama. It was a country politically and economically isolated from international sanctions for its ambiguous nuclear policy, but Iran has become today, despite Trump's attempts to delete all its predecessor's results, a flattered economic partner and a new benchmark for precarious and complex geopolitical balances in the Middle East. After the recent confirmation of the moderate Rouhani to the presidency of the Republic, the waiver agreements with the rest of the world on nuclear issues and the expected overcoming of economic sanctions, the country tries to regain its place in the world and shake off a negative image that it feels it doesn’t deserve. Behind the distension of international relations, in Iran there is a different world from what we are told every day, made up of young people who live and dream, dealing with the many contradictions emerging from the conflict between the need for modernization and the repressive regime. A country rooted in the ancient Persian culture and history but also projected in the future with a young and dynamic society without comparison, with a deep desire for modernity that is absolutely comparable to the western one. A country in which you will soon lose in the Bazaar among colorful spices, ‘thousand and a night’ carpets and tea’s perfume poured from samovars, and a moment later you find yourself in a modern metropolis surrounded by skyscrapers and luxury shopping malls. A journey to the discovery of an unknown Iran, full of serious problems and contradictions, but made up by men and women, memory, traditions, hopes and anxieties, even before governments and coranic laws. A trip to a "timeless" country, where time has left too many signs and what remains is stratification. In Iran, every family still has someone who has made war or has endured deprivation and mourning. People, therefore, do not easily knock down for the discomfort. A country where, inevitably, past, present and future intersect. A future which, according to many, sees Iran as one of the most promising economies of the 21st century and perhaps the next China, a lion ready to wake up. Entering into this new era of Iranian history is a multiform society, whose complexity can not be reduced to the religious figure. The impression is that, in addition to the two blocks that form political and religious power, there is a third one formed by Iranian society, the people. Iran is often poorly understood by western observers, who tend to read its reality according to established stereotypes. But, in Iran, there is not only one way to live. In Iran you do not cover your face and do not wear Burqa. In Iran, young people thrill, rejoice, have fun, get together in bars and clubs, are attached to their smartphones and love social networks. But most of all in Iran there are normal people in flesh and bones that are tired of being watched by a porthole. The gap between tradition and modernity returns a tense and alienating social environment. This project investigates life in a country afflicted by this dichotomy, trying to lift the veil in some of the least-watched areas of daily life, showing the conflicts that arise between the official version of the Iranian life promoted by the authorities and the reality of daily life for the Iranian youth who is struggling to find an identity in a rapidly changing and evolving world.