Warring Factions: Iranian-American Break Dancer Defies Homeland Security With Film
Los Angeles, California — May 2, 2009 — Iranian-American filmmaker Justin Mashouf will be screening his feature-length documentary, “Warring Factions,” on May 2nd as a part of the 3rd Annual Noor International Film Festival—the largest Iranian film festival in America. After screening the 70-minute documentary, Mashouf will speak about his experiences in Iran, his detention by Homeland Security and the confiscation of his video footage on suspicion of terrorism.
“Warring Factions” is 24-year-old Mashouf’s first feature-length documentary. Filming began in April 2007, capturing his experiences as a multi-ethnic Iranian-American exploring his Muslim identity in a post-9/11 world. In the wake of rising international tensions, he is cornered into answering the question, “Where is your loyalty, America or Iran?” Shot in both countries, Mashouf’s journey throughout the film uses his love for break-dancing as a way of bridging an American culture with Iranian youth. Additionally, he becomes a student of the traditional Iranian martial art of “Varzesh Bastani” and seeks to understand the sentiments of the religious conservative generation of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
As voices in the Obama administration deliberate their official Iran policy and media outlets have fueled the perception of a nuclear standoff, “Warring Factions” is a call to (dis)arms. By combining documentary and studio reenactments, Mashouf looks at the blurring of world borders, and the looming threat of another war in the Middle East.
When: Saturday May 2, 2009. 2:00pm
Where: Fine Arts Theater
8556 Wilshire Blvd.,
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
TEL: 310-281-5575
FAX: 310-826-3716
