Masterclass + Film Session by Firouzeh Khosrovani - Family Portrait: Uncovering Hidden Narratives. On October 18, at 5:00 pm, at Batalha Centro de Cinema, Room 1. Duration: 45 minutes. Creating a family portrait is more than a creative project - it’s a labor of love that weaves together memory, identity, and personal narratives. This masterclass invites participants to explore their family and individual stories, transforming cherished memories, dreams, and even silent struggles into vivid, cinematic accounts. Personal experiences - memories, dreams, and even nightmares - are not only valuable but uniquely suited for storytelling through film. The session provides a structured yet flexible framework to help participants shape their family stories into narratives to be shared with others. By delving into the emotional and historical layers of family life, the aim is to uncover hidden narratives, challenge idealized portrayals, and create authentic and meaningful portraits.
Film Session - Radiograph of a Family (2020, Norway, Iran, Switzerland, 82’), by Firouzeh Khosrovani. My mother married my father’s photograph in Tehran. He was studying radiology in Switzerland, and for her to join him, marriage was obligatory. With her religious background, living in Europe was a challenge: sin seemed to be everywhere. My father came from a liberal, secular family, a lover of culture, fine arts, and classical music. My mother could never understand how he could treasure, for example, a painting depicting nude bodies. After I was born, we moved back to Tehran, just before the Revolution, which changed everything overnight. My mother found new purpose and identity: she became a religious activist, a school principal, and underwent military training. My father remained silent in his favorite chair, listening to Bach. In our home, there were no more card games or red wine; my mother’s prayer mat and mine lay side by side in the living room, by the window. Photographs of women without hijab were torn apart; my mother censored the past, while my father dreamed of a different future. I was torn between them, and my identity grew out of both. I still carry them within me. My story, told through photographs, archive footage, letters, and voices, turns our home in Tehran into a metaphor for the transformations of our family and, by extension, Iranian society itself.