Refocus: The Films of Shirin Neshat

Ghorbankarimi, Maryam and Mahan, Mayzar, eds. (2026) Refocus: The Films of Shirin Neshat. ReFocus: The International Directors Series . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh. ISBN 9781399562287 (In Press)

Abstract

This edited volume offers the first comprehensive study of the internationally acclaimed Iranian visual artist and filmmaker whose work bridges cinema, photography and installation art. An interdisciplinary collection that brings together scholars from film, visual arts, gender studies and Middle Eastern studies to deepen understanding of Neshat’s contribution to contemporary visual culture and transnational cinema. Organised around three intersecting themes: Feminist Interventions and Cinematic Authorship, Diasporic Visions and Transnational Frames, and Sensory Histories and Poetic Bodies. Includes an extended interview with Neshat offering rare insight into her creative process and artistic evolution. Bringing together leading and emerging scholars, this volume traces Neshat’s evolution from Women of Allah to her feature films Women Without Men, Looking for Oum Kulthum and Land of Dreams, situating her within global debates on feminism, exile and transnational aesthetics. Organised around three themes: Feminist Interventions and Cinematic Authorship, Diasporic Visions and Transnational Frames, and Sensory Histories and Poetic Bodies, the collection presents diverse critical perspectives on her aesthetics of resistance and the politics of representation. Featuring an exclusive interview with Neshat, the book offers new interdisciplinary insights into her artistic and cinematic legacy, positioning her as a pivotal figure whose work transforms personal narratives of displacement into universal meditations on power, memory and identity.