A look at Googoosh, ‘the daughter of Iran’ introducing her to those who’ve never heard of her, celebrating her for those who love her, and talking with the documentary maker who made the only film about her. Farhad Zamani managed to do this while Googoosh was still in Iran and still banned from singing or appearing in public. The film was released at the very moment the government were thinking of letting her leave in 2000, a landmark date. This intensely psychological film contains rare footage and interviews with those around Googoosh, building up an in-depth picture of someone who though alive, does not appear. At the same time Zamani uses experimental editing techniques to relay the tension and underline certain issues, all the while doing as Googoosh had done for many years: speaking through that which cannot be spoken.
Six Pillars to Persia is an English Language program celebrating Iranian outsider arts and modern Persian heritage. Mondays 1.30pm GMT, Sundays 8.30pm GMT
This program was broadcast on March 3rd 2008 from the Audio Visual 08 festival Museum Of Modern Art Middlesborough.
