This title turns the spotlight on the cinema of Iran, with particular attention to the major genres & movements, historical turning points, & prominent figures that have helped shape it. A wide range of genres are presented, including Film Farsi, New Wave, War film, art house film & women's cinema.

Working at the intersection of religion and ever-shifting political, economic and social environments, Iranian cinema has produced some of the most critically lauded films in the world today. The first volume in the Directory of World Cinema: Iran turned the spotlight on the award-winning cinema of Iran, with particular attention to the major genres and movements, historical turning points and prominent figures that have helped shape it. Considering a wide range of genres, including Film Farsi, New Wave, war film, art house film and women’s cinema, the book was greeted with enthusiasm by film studies scholars, students working on alternative or national cinema and fans and aficionados of Iranian film. Building on the momentum and influence of its predecessor, Directory of World Cinema: Iran 2 will be welcomed by all seeking an up-to-date and comprehensive guide to Iranian cinema.

Building on and bringing up to date the material presented in the first instalment of Directory of World Cinema: Australia and New Zealand, this volume continues the exploration of the cinema produced in Australia and New Zealand since the beginning of the twentieth century. Among the additions to this volume are in-depth treatments of the locations that feature prominently in the countries’ cinema. Essays by leading critics and film scholars consider the significance of the outback and the beach in films, which are evoked as a liminal space in Long Weekend and a symbol of death in Heaven’s Burning, among other films. Other contributions turn the spotlight on previously unexplored genres and key filmmakers, including Jane Campion, Rolf de Heer, Charles Chauvel and Gillian Armstrong. Accompanying the critical essays in this volume are more than one hundred and fifty new film reviews, complemented by film stills and significantly expanded references for further study. From The Piano to Crocodile Dundee, Directory of World Cinema: Australia and New Zealand 2 completes this comprehensive treatment of a consistently fascinating national cinema.

The New Wave Cinema in Iran is a historical and analytical study of the Iranian New Wave Cinema (Mowj-e No) as an artistic and intellectual movement that came to its best early productions between 1958 and 1978. As the movement has a long history, Parviz Jahed focuses on the development and the early progression of the movement in the 1960s and explores its emergence and development in the context of the cultural and social conditions of Iran during this period. Jahed first defines the term 'New Wave' in Iran's film culture, in order to identify the root elements that gave traction to this movement. He analyses the degree to which different elements and factors have contributed to the formation of this cinema, accounting for the different approaches of Iranian intellectual filmmakers towards modernity and a modern form of cinema in Iran. The book finishes by studying the works of three intellectual figures and influential filmmakers of the 1960s, Ebrahim Golestan, Farrokh Ghaffari, and Feraydoon Rahnama, who are arguably considered the forerunners of the New Wave Cinema in Iran.

Since the publication of the first volume of Directory of World Cinema: China, the Chinese film industry has intensified its efforts to make inroads into the American market. The 2012 acquisition of US theatre chain AMC and visual effects house Digital Domain by Chinese firms testifies to the global ambitions of China’s powerhouse film industry. Yet Chinese cinema has had few crossover hits in recent years to match the success of such earlier films as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; House of Flying Daggers and Kung Fu Hustle. Yet even overseas revenue for Chinese movies has dwindled, domestic market growth has surged year after year. Indeed, annual production output remains healthy, and the daily expansion of screens in second-or third-tier cities attracts audiences whose tastes favour domestic films over foreign imports.

The New Wave Cinema in Iran is a historical and analytical study of the Iranian New Wave Cinema (Mowj-e No) as an artistic and intellectual movement that came to its best early productions between 1958 and 1978. As the movement has a long history, Parviz Jahed focuses on the development and the early progression of the movement in the 1960s and explores its emergence and development in the context of the cultural and social conditions of Iran during this period. Jahed first defines the term 'New Wave' in Iran's film culture, in order to identify the root elements that gave traction to this movement. He analyses the degree to which different elements and factors have contributed to the formation of this cinema, accounting for the different approaches of Iranian intellectual filmmakers towards modernity and a modern form of cinema in Iran. The book finishes by studying the works of three intellectual figures and influential filmmakers of the 1960s, Ebrahim Golestan, Farrokh Ghaffari, and Feraydoon Rahnama, who are arguably considered the forerunners of the New Wave Cinema in Iran.

An Iranian immigrant struggling to integrate into 1970s German society, the filmmaker Sohrab Shahid Saless (1944-98) has become a neglected figure in discussions of diaspora cinema. In this - the first English-language book to reflect on his work and its implications for creativity in the diasporic conditions of urban displacement - a range of international scholars provide a comprehensive account of Shahid Saless's films and production methods. Outlining his affinity with celebrated directors like Chantal Akerman and Abbas Kiarostami, as well as visual artists like Romuald Karmakar, the contributors firmly position Shahid Saless as a filmmaker who speaks forcefully to the traumas of displacement and migration.