Looking for Oum Kulthum | Shirin Neshat | Talks at Google

Shirin Neshat is an Iranian born artist and filmmaker living in New York City. Neshat’s early photographic works include the Women of Allah series (1993–1997), which explored the question of gender in relation to Islamic fundamentalism and militancy. Her subsequent video works departed from overtly political content or critique in favor of more poetic imagery and complex human narratives.

Shirin joins us to discuss her most recent work “Looking for Oum Kulthum”, a film within a film, "Looking for Oum Kulthum" is the plight of an Iranian woman artist/filmmaker living in exile, as she embarks on capturing the life and art of the legendary female singer of the Arab world, Oum Kulthum. Through her difficult journey, not unlike her heroine's, she has to face the struggles, sacrifices and the price that a woman has to pay if she dares to cross the lines of a conservative male dominated society.

More info via https://www.lookingforoumkulthum.com/

Moderated by Megan Green.