Head Wind (Baad-e-daboor)

0 votes and 0 Reviews

Documentary

Iran is a nation where the government carefully regulates what its citizens may see on television, read in the newspapers, or access on the internet.

However, despite the country's repressive policies, many people enjoy news and entertainment outside the purview of their leaders, and filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof examines what Iranians are viewing on the sly and how they find it in the documentary Baad-e-daboor (aka Head Wind).

In order to watch television programming not on the official approved list, well-to-do Iranians need little more than to purchase a satellite dish, which can easily be hidden on their property (and homeowners can use the defense that unauthorized channels were supposed to be blocked on their system).

The less fortunate can rent time from folks with portable antennas that use high-powered signal amplifiers capable of picking up broadcasts from outside the country.

Bootleg DVD's have also become a booming market in Iran, featuring films not officially released in the nation, though some pirate distributors buffer the sex and violence along with adding Farsi subtitles to their product.

And while federal regulators block access to a wide variety of websites, proxy sites hosted within and outside Iran are bringing the digital revolution to the Middle East in undiluted form.

While some customers of forbidden media are just looking for entertainment, many believe that by pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable they're forcing the government's hand towards a more enlightened position. Head Wind received its North American premiere at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.