Pega Ahangurani’s “Rehearsal for a Revolution” is one of the most powerful films of the year, weaving together half a century of Iranian history with the director’s own personal story of exile in London. It all creates a powerful tapestry that begins with one word: “Remember.”
The Persian words for memory and remembrance tie the entire film together, allowing Ahangurani and editor Arash Ashtiani to weave together timelines under the idea that memory is its own form of revolution. At our Art of the Doc event in Los Angeles, the two sat down with IndieWire editor-in-chief Brent Lang for a wide-ranging conversation that started with the film’s opening word.
Ahangurani said, “I wanted to emphasize the act of remembering, because the central idea of my film is about remembering.” “I grew up in Iran and have lived there my entire life, and I know very well that totalitarians, including those in Iran, not only censor people. They also try to erase our memories, erase our past, and replace it with their own version of history. They try to rewrite it, and we should not let them steal our memories. I think remembering is one of the few things we have. We need our We must remember the past, we must remember our victims, we must mourn them. Only then can we begin to heal.”
Watch the full conversation in the video above.
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