No One Knows About Persian Cats

Mahmud Ahmadinejad imposed a ban on 'Western and decadent music' in Iran soon after he became president, yet No One Knows About Persian Cats portrays Tehran as a city with a vibrant underground indie rock scene, and features a number of bands who sound and look good enough to be gaining coverage in the NME. Negar and Ashkan are a musical duo who have been promised a gig in London. They need a backing band, as well as the necessary paperwork that will allow them to leave the country. That paperwork proves impossible to come by legitimately, so they team up with Nader, a bootlegger and blagger, who may be able to provide the connections they need. With passports and visas being made to order, the trio travel the city, listening to local rappers, rockers, singer-songwriters and electro-poppers, who perform wherever they can. With trademark wit and flair, director Bahman Ghobadi (A Time for Drunken Horses, Turtles Can Fly) presents the film as a fiction, though it feels like a significant document of a movement happening in that city, at this time. Considering it is estimated that 60% of Iran's population is under 30, the film emerges as a vital celebration of the generation which is likely to have the greatest influence on its country's future.

Michael Hayden