Iranian Film Students Honour Protest Filmmakers in Berlin Documentary
Inspired by the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising that swept Iran in 2022, two film students have created a documentary titled Memories of a Window, which premiered at the Berlin film festival. The film pays tribute to onlookers who risk their lives to anonymously record footage as proof of state violence, capturing a protest movement that unfolded from behind windows.
A Movement Captured on Smartphones
Mehraneh Salimian and Amin Pakparvar, now film students in Chicago, were deeply moved by viral footage from Iran in late 2022. This included a scene where a woman was shot by security forces while filming anti-government protests on her phone, her last words being "Film it!". This plea guided Salimian and Pakparvar to dedicate their documentary to the slain woman, Shirin Alizadeh, and to explore the crucial role of amateur videos in documenting and emboldening dissent in Iran.
The filmmakers worked from a vast collection of anonymous smartphone videos, estimating they viewed about 2,000 clips, alongside their own footage gathered in Tehran during the 2022-23 uprising. Salimian, aged 26, explains, "We're hoping that we can isolate this period of time in Iranian history. Although there has since been even more brutality happening, more violence, that period was important too."
The Perspective from Behind Windows
In Memories of a Window, Salimian and Pakparvar highlight the unique vantage point of individuals filming from the relative safety behind car or home windows. This technique, also used in anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis, serves to hold authorities accountable and challenge official narratives of violent incidents. Salimian describes this space as "like a threshold, a site that was not in the street, but did not have the safety of the home."
She adds, "It was a great tension between the lies or false information the state media was presenting of the movement and what we were experiencing. Protesters started filming the events and they anonymously uploaded them online. It was like a movement happening from behind windows."
The Tragic Story of Shirin Alizadeh
Shirin Alizadeh, aged 36, was one such individual filming from behind a window when she was shot and killed on 22 September 2022. According to Amnesty International, she was in a car with her husband and two others in Salman Shahr when they witnessed protesters being shot dead. Her smartphone footage, capturing demonstrators as security forces opened fire, features prominently in the film, along with her command to a fellow passenger, "Film it!" as a woman lay shot on the roadside. Seconds later, a bullet pierced the car window, hitting Alizadeh in the neck and head, leading to her death in hospital.
Salimian recalls, "I was very, very moved. It shook me to the core." The film intercuts these distressing images with rousing scenes shot by the directors from their flat during the same period, where neighbours joined in anti-regime protest songs from their apartments.
Broader Context and Challenges
The protests initially focused on women's rights, including the compulsory hijab, but evolved into a broader movement. Pakparvar, aged 28, notes that authorities imposed internet blackouts to prevent video sharing, alongside horrific violence resulting in thousands of deaths. He states, "This is a strategy of state and it's kind of working but not fully. There were Starlink satellites that people managed to use to distribute images. Every day we see more and more videos of the massacre. It's heartbreaking."
Despite the challenges, Pakparvar remains hopeful, saying, "For decades Iranians have been protesting and every time their voices have been suppressed and censored. But a couple of years after that, they protested again in higher numbers. It's their courage that is contagious and although they have been suppressed, they see the value of uprising again and again."
Premiere and Global Resonance
Salimian and Pakparvar were unable to attend the Berlin premiere in person due to being in the US on student visas, which would bar them from returning under a travel ban reimposed in 2025. However, they joined via video link. The film has already resonated in Chicago, with students drawing parallels to China under Covid lockdowns and US activism during the Black Lives Matter movement. Pakparvar observes, "It shows that we are living in a very vulnerable moment internationally and people are looking for freedom in various contexts."
Both filmmakers express optimism about returning to a free and democratic Iran. Pakparvar concludes, "We are pretty hopeful to be honest. They can't control it any more. Maybe if you had asked us 10 years ago, we would have had no general sense of what kind of freedom we want. But now it's crystal clear. We know our rights, we know the goal, and we know the values that we want in our life and in our home country. You see millions of people are aware of that and we're moving toward it."
The Berlin festival has long supported Iran's dissident filmmakers, with Iranian creatives holding "Free Iran" signs on the red carpet and staging performances to symbolise those killed during protests.
