Maryam Tafakory - Del Series

Presented together for the first time, the works Mast-del, Razeh-del, and Sukhte-del reflect on longing, silence, and resistance. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Maryam Tafakory can no longer join us for this screening for her performance and Q&A. Curator Humie Pourseyf will give an introduction.

Maryam Tafakory is among the most dynamic and emotionally resonant moving image artists working today. The Iranian artist delves into the history of Iranian cinema to glean moments of intimacy, which she skillfully montages together. The resulting concoctions bridge the personal and the political, taking shape as an act of resurrection for the lives and their stories suppressed under censorship and ongoing oppression.

In Farsi, del means “heart,” but also signifies the inner life – emotion, desire, endurance, and memory. Tafakory’s series explores three states of the heart: Mast-del (intoxicated), Razeh-del (arcane), and Sukhte-del (seared). Presented as a series together for the first time, the works form an emotional arc that reflects on longing, silence, and resistance. The first two films premiered at Cannes Film Festival and Locarno Film Festival, respectively; the third is still a work-in-progress.

Organised on the occasion of our exhibition Tilda Swinton - Ongoing, which includes works by Derek Jarman, this screening celebrates Tafakory’s recognition as a 2024 winner of the Film London Derek Jarman Prize, for which Swinton is a patron.

About the artist

Maryam Tafakory, born and raised in Iran, works with film and performance. Solo screenings of her work include MoMA, BOZAR, NGA (Washington, DC), and the Academy Museum, among others. Selected group events include the Tate Modern, Cannes’ Directors Fortnight, New York Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival, and Toronto International Film Festival. She was awarded the Gold Hugo at the 58th Chicago Int’l Film Festival, the Tiger Short Award at the 51st IFFR, and Best Experimental and Documentary Film at the 70th and 71st Melbourne International Film Festival. She was the 2024 winner of the Film London Jarman Award.

Programme

Razeh-del (2024, 27')
In 1998, two schoolgirls sent a letter to Iran’s first-ever women’s newspaper. While they waited to be published, they considered making an impossible film.
Mast-del (2023, 17')
Two women lie together in bed. As the wind bashes against the window, one recalls a past date to the cinema. A love song that would never pass through the censors.
Nazarbazi (2021, 19')
Nazarbazi (the play of glances) is a film about love and desire in Iranian cinema, where depictions of intimacy and touch between women and men are prohibited. The film focuses primarily on images of women whose bodies have been erased and victimised in post-revolutionary cinema, alluding to discreet forms of communication that operate within yet circumnavigate the censors. The montage attempts to touch the spaces we cannot touch, inner feelings, untouchability beyond bodily experience, and the unwritten/unspoken prohibitions inside us. The film uses poetry and silence as the only languages with which we can touch these spaces of socio-political ambiguities.

This is part of

Eye on Art

Details

Production year

2026

Length

90 min.

Event language

English

Country

Part of

Eye on Art

Eye on Art is a programme on the intersection between film and other arts. Eye on Art keeps up with current events, with presentations on contemporary artists and programmes that coincide with important exhibitions, manifestations and Eye activities.

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