Dear John

You are invited to Index on Censorship's forthcoming event Celebrating Iranian Resistance' on Tuesday 17 September at East London cocktail bar, Colours Hoxton.

Join us for an evening of solidarity, protest and Iranian culture on the two-year anniversary of the death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini while in police custody, which sparked the Woman, Life, Freedom protests in Iran. The evening will feature a screening of Jafar Panahi's 3 Faces, made while under a 20-year filmmaking ban, plus a panel discussion with Professor Shohini Chaudhuri and Malu Halasa. We will also stand in solidarity with Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi who was tortured, released, rearrested and sentenced to death for his lyrics supporting anti-government protests and advocating for women’s rights.

More information below or click here to reserve your spot.

We look forward to welcoming you to an evening celebrating Iranian resistance.

Index on Censorship
 

Celebrating Iranian Resistance
Tuesday 17 September, 6pm
Colours Hoxton

On 16 September 2022 the world was shocked by the death in custody of Mahsa (Jina) Amini. Her murder was a reminder of the brutal side of Iran, as was the crushing of dissent that followed. Despite the crackdown, people did - and still do - resist taking great personal risks in their quest to improve the rights landscape of Iran. Index on Censorship celebrates these dissidents and so, as we remember Amini almost two years to the day of her death, we want to spotlight them too.

So please join us for a night of Iranian culture and protest. The event will feature a film screening of Jafar Panahi's 3 Faces, a panel discussion, and standing in solidarity with the rapper Toomaj Salehi, who is one of the most outspoken critics of the regime today.

Two years on we know the authorities would rather that we forgot about those who wish for a different Iran and that we would forget the name Amini. We will not. Instead we stand in solidarity with them and will continue our quest to raise awareness about how rights, especially around free expression, continue to be crushed.
 

Film Screening + Q&A

Iranian film director Jafar Panahi made his critically acclaimed and award-winning 3 Faces (2018) while being banned from filmmaking for 20 years and forbidden from leaving Iran. The film explores themes of womanhood and patriarchal rural Iran through the form of road trip adventure. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Professor Shohini Chaudhuri and writer and editor Malu Halasa about cinema and censorship in Iran, plus a wider exploration of how cinema is used to control the global narrative.

#FreeToomaj

Join Index to stand in solidarity with Iranian musician Toomaj Salehi, as we listen to his powerful music campaigning for women’s rights and justice in Iran. Musician and creative practitioner, Roshi Nasehi, will read some of Toomaj's lyrics as an expression of solidarity.

About Toomaj Salehi

Arrested, detained and imprisoned for his solidarity with Iranian women who courageously took to the streets in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini, Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi was tortured, released, rearrested and sentenced to death for his lyrics supporting anti-government protests and advocating for women’s rights. Although the death sentence has since been overturned, he remains in prison. Index continues to campaign for his release.

Free copies of the latest Index magazine will be available at the event for all attendees.

With thanks to Colours Hoxton (venue partner)

With thanks to Sage (magazine sponsor)