YARALI BASHLAR

1988

30 min.

fa

Original Title

Yarali bashlar

Overview

Documentary about the illegal mourning tradition of head slashing in the Azerbaijan region of northern Iran. In the film, Panahi documented a mourning ceremony for the third Shi'ite Imam, Imam Hossein, where people hit their heads with knives until they bled. Panahi had to shoot in secret and the film was banned for several years.