Googoosh: Iran's Daughter

Googoosh, Iran's legendary pop diva, was silenced following the 1979 Islamic revolution, when women singers were labeled "temptresses" and forbidden to perform publicly in the presence of men or to release recordings. For several decades, Googoosh's popularity throughout the Middle East had fueled a frenzy in her fans that surpassed the West's cult of Elvis in its intensity. Iranian-American filmmaker Farhad Zamani provides a thoughtful and highly entertaining examination of the phenomenon of Googoosh from her beginnings as a child star, to a full-fledged adult career of unprecedented scope, to silence and resurgance. Packed with clips from her films as well as concert footage, this award-winning film also examines her image and cultural significance, and places her in a political and historical context a look at the status of women in Iran before and after the revolution is a connecting thread.