THRESHOLDS OF MASCULINITY presents films that transcend stereotypical depictions of Iranian male identity. While the heightened marginalization of women in Iran since the 1979 revolution has detrimentally affected all aspects of their daily lives, men have traditionally faced far fewer restrictions. As women continue to defy and push against these imposed barriers, many Iranian men are left questioning their own place within the shifting landscapes of their society. Amir Azizi, Farid Haji, Andy Sarjahani, and Vahid Vakilifar’s films engage with these male experiences, both in Iran and the American diaspora. 

Azizi’s narrative film follows two young men and their dogs as they search for belonging amidst Iran’s economic turmoil. In his documentary, Sarjahani reflects on his Iranian heritage with a childhood American friend while navigating life as a second generation immigrant on a pig farm in Arkansas. A requiem for a friend—Farid Haji’s short film follows a male student from a gender segregated university who helps a fellow student reach his dreams of being in a party, even after he dies. In Vahid Vakilifar’s Gesher, Ghobad, Jahan and Nezam, three men in pursuit of a better life, leave home and head for Oslouyeh, one of the richest gas producing regions in the south of Iran. However, the difficult living conditions together with the low salaries oblige them and others to find shelter along the disused sections of the pipeline. The group of workers manage to create an atmosphere of camaraderie despite the difficult conditions with which they are faced. 

Although male identity is approached from different cultural and geographic realities, the common ground is evident through a multiplicity of parallels within these films. Whether shedding a light on the dynamics of male friendship or revealing the deep relations that the characters have towards each other, the films reckon with the prevalence of vulnerability within male identity that extends beyond language and place.

THRESHOLDS OF MASCULINITY is curated by Gelareh Kiazand and is co-presented by ArteEast and Museum of the Moving Image. This program is part of the legacy program Unpacking the ArteArchive, which preserves and presents over 20 years of film and video programming by ArteEast. A selection of the program will be presented in-person at the Museum of the Moving Image as part of the Infinite Beauty Series, on May 10, 2025 at 3pm. The screening will be followed by a discussion with filmmaker Andy Sarjahani, curator Gelareh Kiazand, and ArteEast Programs Director, Lila Nazemian. The full THRESHOLDS OF MASCULINITY program will be available online on artearchive.org from May 8 -18, 2025.

Original program materials by ArteEast are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( CC BY 4.0.). This does not apply to films or third-party content.