Veil of Dreams

It’s a common sight in Tehran: Men living out nightly football fantasies under the dim street-lights, their minds playing out the moves of their favorite stars in the fields of their imagination. It’s a fantasy land unseen by women in Iran, or at least, most women. Since the fall of the Shah, the Western media have generally portrayed Iranian women as oppressed and down-trodden. The reality is more subtle. Women are free to follow a wide range of social and sporting activities – it’s simply that Islamic law prohibits them from doing it in the view of men. In a remarkable turnaround, considering the highly conservative administration elected in 2005, and the resurgence of fundamentalist Islamic values in Iran, women have now been permitted to form a national football team. This is their story, my baby, which I authored and researched, with production carried out by Oak Three Films.