What Cannes 2026 Revealed About the State of Global Culture
A cultural essay exploring the films, ideas, and tensions that defined Cannes 2026.
When the Body Became the Museum: The 2026 Met Gala
In this 2026 Met Gala cinematic analysis, we witness a transformation. For a few hours last night, the steps of
The Desert Became a Screen: Inside Coachella 2026
For two weekends in April, the California desert stopped being a place and became a transmission.
Nasser Taghvai: The Quiet Maverick of Iranian Cinema
A tribute to Nasser Taghvai, the pioneering Iranian filmmaker whose poetic realism and cultural insight shaped a generation — from My Uncle Napoleon to Captain Khorshid.
A Fragrant Conversation with the Founders of House of Dastan
Interview by Ali Shahrakhi, ZH Magazine In an era where luxury is too often reduced to surface and spectacle, House
Maedeh Tafvizi
Maedeh Tafvizi is an Iranian-born ceramic artist, educator, and material researcher whose interdisciplinary practice explores the intersections of grief, ritual, and spatial memory through clay. Raised in Isfahan, she draws inspiration from Persian architecture, Islamic ornamentation, and ancestral weaving practices to reimagine traditional motifs—such as Zillo tapestry patterns—into sculptural forms using both ancient techniques like Egyptian paste and contemporary tools like 3D clay printing.
Behzad Bolour | The Last Nomad of Persian Sound
If there’s ever been a voice that roamed across the deserts of exile, the alleyways of underground concerts, and the faded ruins of lost Persian empires—and brought them all into your headphones with a velvet force—it’s Behzad Bolour.
Jafar Panahi Cannes 2025: A Defiant Victory at the Heart of Global Cinema
Jafar Panahi, the renowned Iranian filmmaker, has won the Palme d’Or at Cannes 2025 for his powerful film It Was Just an Accident. This historic win at Cannes 2025 marks a new chapter in Panahi’s career as a symbol of resistance in Iranian cinema.
The Mahsa Festival a Cultural Stand for Freedom Through Storytelling
Mahsa Festival Honors Artistic Resistance with Final Ceremony in Costa Mesa On April 19, 2025, the final award ceremony of the Mahsa Festival took place at The Palazzo by Khoshbin in Costa Mesa, California. Organized by the Institute of Voices for Liberty (iVOL) and directed by actor and activist Hamid Farrokhnezhad, the festival spotlighted playwriting and screenwriting as tools for artistic resistance and the defense of free expression.
In the Shadow of the Cypress | A Triumph for Iranian Animation at the Oscars
The 97th Academy Awards marked a historic moment for Iranian cinema as In the Shadow of the Cypress, directed by