Chronicles: Re-reading Iran’s Past from the Diaspora
Curated by Afsun Moshiry
Ausländer – Teil 3: Iraner 1 (Foreigners – Part 3: Iranians 1)
Peter Nestler, BRD, 1978, 30 min. German with English subtitles
Ausländer – Teil 4: Iraner 2 (Foreigners – Part 4: Iranians 2)
Peter Nestler, BRD, 1978 29 min. German with English subtitles
Introduced by Afsun Moshiry, followed by a talk with Samira Mohyeddin and Nader Talebi
Peter and Zsóka Nestler’s films bring together two perspectives on Iran in the years immediately preceding the 1979 revolution: the history of political power and the history of those who resist it. Through archival material, historical images, and filmed objects, eachtraces the restrictive structures of authority under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi marked by repression, geopolitical interests, and the global struggle over oil.
Alongside this narrative of power, the films follow Iranian exiles in Stockholm whose protests, memories, and testimonies reveal the human consequences of these political and economic forces. Their voices show how global systems of domination become tangible in individual lives through exile, labor, and violence.
Peter Nestler himself experienced political marginalization in West Germany. His work faced censorship and a lack of institutional support that eventually forced him to continue his filmmaking abroad, where he settled in Sweden. This experience lends the films an additional resonance, reflecting on exile, political commitment, and the role of cinema as a form of resistance.
Seen today at a moment when Iran once again appears in international news primarily through the lens of war, these films offer a rare opportunity to look beyond the immediacy of current headlines. Returning to the late 1970s, they illuminate the deeper historical tensions, struggles, and acts of resistance that continue to shape Iran’s present. (Afsun Moshiry)
Samira Mohyeddin is an award winning journalist and documentary filmmaker. She has a Master of Arts in Modern Middle Eastern History from the University of Toronto and is a graduate of Genocide Studies from the Zoryan Institute. She resigned from the CBC in November 2023 and is now the founder and managing editor of On The Line Media, focusing on critical and contextual journalism and informed commentary.
Nader Talebi is a sociologist researching revolution and migration at Humboldt University in Berlin. He completed his PhD at Lancaster University on state power and revolution in Iran with a focus on the 1979 Revolution. Apart from teaching, he is the co-founder and head of the Middle East Research Group (MERGE) at the Berlin Institute for Migration Research (BIM).
