Googoosh – Made of Fire!
Theatrical German release: October 10, 2024
distributed by mindjazz pictures
Germany 2024
Original (Farsi/English) with German subtitles and German dubbed version | 95 minutes
World premiere: Sheffield International Documentary Festival 2024
Production: Windcatcher Productions GmbH
in cooperation with ZDF / ARTE
Synopsis:
Googoosh, Iran’s most famous singer and actress, has been an icon and pioneer of Iranian pop culture for over 50 years. She made her first appearance at the age of 2 – Googoosh was known from Tehran’s famous Miami cabaret to the Royal Palace. An international career followed with performances all over the world and hits in Persian, French and English. With the Islamic revolution, everything changed in one fell swoop: a ban on performing, prison and house arrest. After 21 years of isolation, she managed to leave the country and make an unexpected comeback in exile. Her moving story made her a voice of resistance and a symbol of hope.
Press notes:
Once a radiant Persian pop icon and celebrated actress, then 21 years under house arrest – and finally an unexpected comeback on the stages of this world: “Googoosh – Made of Fire” tells the story of the eventful life of the legendary Iranian singer and actress Googoosh with all its ups and downs – a tribute to one of the most important artists in Iranian pop culture and at the same time to the dramatic development of Iran, the Iranian people and its artists over the past decades.
Story:
Introduced to the stage by her father at the age of two and given the stage name Googoosh, Faegheh Atashin quickly became a child star in Iran. Her unique singing style, which combines Persian poetry with blues, jazz, rock and disco, catapulted her to international fame in the 1970s. She also performed in the USA, Italy and France until her career came to an abrupt end with the Islamic Revolution. The regime deprived numerous artists of their livelihoods and placed many of them, including Googoosh, under house arrest for decades.
Then, through unbelievable circumstances, she returned to the stage and celebrated a triumphant comeback. To this day, she continues to thrill huge audiences and has millions of fans on all continents and from all generations. German-Iranian director Niloufar Taghizadeh has created an intimate portrait of this celebrated icon and a multi-layered historical and cultural testimony to Iran. Googoosh tells her unique story in her own words – from the wild beginnings of Iranian pop culture to her tireless fight against oppression.
Of course, every female director feels honored to make a film about Googoosh, Iran’s most famous pop singer and actress. It would be enough to bring her unique fate to the attention of people beyond Iran. But that would be too easy. For me and for many others, Googoosh is more than just a pop icon or famous actress. She was and is a symbol of not giving up, of vitality and against the oppression of women.
I was born in 1978, the year of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, shortly before people’s lives were completely turned upside down. Countless Iranian artists lost their livelihoods. Many left the country or were sentenced. During this time, I noticed that all my friends and acquaintances had Googoosh’s music and old films playing. It was a recurring theme that Googoosh was the only artist to return to Iran voluntarily after the revolution, even though she was clearly threatened with death. These and other tragic stories about Iranian artists were part of everyday conversation. While we children of the revolution had to be completely hooded and dressed in dark clothes, were not allowed to sing and were punished for one too many strands of hair, Googoosh brought a lot of color into our lives. It allowed us to dream and imagine what freedom could be like. I could always escape into this music and the films and visualize an Iranian woman who had nothing to do with our everyday reality. At the same time, I knew that while everyone was telling colorful stories about Googoosh and admiring her, she was sitting under house arrest somewhere in Tehran with no music and no color. She was unwanted. I remember very often going to the illegal cassette dealer, disguised as a toy dealer in the basement of a shopping center, and asking for new cassettes. I had to give him a secret code and only then did I get the latest western cassettes.
There were often rumors of a new Googoosh album. Time and again I fell for it and bought a cassette that wasn’t new. When Googoosh finally managed to leave the country after 21 years, the VHS cassettes of their comeback were passed on in Iran and around the world. The tapes showed a petite and visibly shaken woman and thousands of people crying and cheering. She was probably the burnt phoenix whose resurrection from the ashes was eagerly awaited by many. The woman, who is also called Iran’s daughter, stands for the tireless pursuit of freedom and for the stifled voices of Iranian women. She continues to inspire people across generations not to give up, even where there is no hope. She has fought for what more than 80 million people want for their daughters and themselves: a free, loud voice.
When I was allowed to meet Googoosh to hear the story from her point of view, the Islamic Republic’s next blow stunned us: an innocent girl had to die. The start of the Women’s Life and Freedom Movement during the filming added another dimension to the story, and if you could somehow put the story of what was done to the Iranian people and their artists into images, no one would be more suitable for the role of narrator than Faegheh Atashin, Googoosh’s real name. For me, Googoosh’s fate is a symbol of Iranian women’s tireless determination to get up again and again and make a fresh start.
Googoosh – Made of Fire is my attempt to show her story and, in parallel, the history of Iranian culture over the last 45 years. And of course it is the story of an acting icon and Iran’s first female pop singer.
Crew
Director & Producer Niloufar Taghizadeh
Production companies Windcatcher-Productions GmbH
Production assistance Sonja Seeger, Adrianna Amra Bartosiewicz
Postproduction klangBezirk
Camera James Rodney Stolz, Steffen Bohnert
Editing Catharina Kleber
Color Grading Thomas Maier
Graphic & Title Design Stefan Matlik
Dialog Edit Moritz Corell
Sound Markus Rapp, Daniele Guida
Re-Recording Mix Andreas Radzuweit, bvft
Sound Design Aron Frankenberger
Accounting Hanna Görgen
Public Relations. Joana Frühmorgen