Iran: The Cyber Dissidents

A film by Australian Broadcast Corp

Iran, an Islamic republic, has the largest number of internet users in the Middle East. A large dissident population is finding new ways to communicate, risking arrest, prison, torture and even death as they try to organize resistance to the repressive religious government. To be a reformer today is to live dangerously.

One leader of the opposition, Farid, is a cyber-dissident whose web site has been on the cutting-age of protest. He knows he is taking serious risks keeping his web site up and running but says if the government destroys it, he will find another way to communicate with the reformers. A recent feature film called The Lizard which is critical of the regime has been very popular. In one chilling scene, a crowd of ticket-buyers outside one of the movie theatres where it's playing is seen being watched by government agents. This is a unique view of Iran to which an American film crew could never have access.

Middle East Studies Association, 2006

25 min. Video or DVD. Sale $295, Video rental $55.