Edo Smitshuijzen

Persepolis, story of an Iranian childhood

An animated biography of an Iranian woman

Sometimes the story about important developments in the Arab world are best told by reports about personal experiences. And sometimes the narrative can be more poignant when represented in a simple black and white cartoon-strip format.

Iranian Marjane Satrapi gained almost instant fame after the publication of her graphic novel Persepolis in 2003. The novel described her childhood in Iran after the Revolution when the power of the western-oriented Shah was taken over by the spiritual leader Khomeini. Persepolis became part of a sequel series: Persepolis 2, 3, and 4 followed, describing subsequently the period during the war between Iran and Iraq, her years as exile in Vienna, Austria and her return to Iran followed up by settling in France.

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The film under the same title uses the content of her books. The film is made in collaboration with Vincent Paronnaud and received the Jury Prize on the Cannes Film Festival 2007.

www.sonyclassics.com/persepolis/