Jafar Panahi weaves together tales of women’s daily struggles in THE CIRCLE, described by Desson Thomas as “a memorable and devastating indictment of the oppression facing many women in Iran.” In the words of Lisa Schwarzbaum, Pahani “graduates to a new elegance of vocabulary” with the film, which “circles the heart of noisy, modern Tehran with an informal, documentary-like freedom that is thrilling in its naturalism.” Banned in Iran, THE CIRCLE won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2000. Introduction by Farkhondeh Shayesteh. 35mm print from the Yale Film Archive.

A presentation of the Yale Film Study Center and Films at the Whitney with support from Paul L. Joskow ’70 M.Phil., ’72 Ph.D.