In an attempt to expand what was formerly considered Iranian video art, Revisit — Early Encounters brings together documentaries, experimental films, and videos from fifteen years. This survey of moving images attempts to shed light on the vast area at stake and how the diverse practices within it were affected by access to new technologies and socio-political events, which changed art production and video-making in Iran in just a few years.[…]

The program explores Iranian artists’ use of digital and analog film footage (some of which goes back to the Iranian Revolution), the emergence of video cameras, and how artists and filmmakers used these devices to express, change, reflect, and revolt. As we view these works, the camera remains an apparatus of resistance and witnesses the medium’s transformation. Some films have never been shown online before. In contrast, others haven’t been presented in years, subverting the grand narratives that focus only on successful professionals recognized by the market. Instead, included here is a wide circle of makers whose works propose new dimensions and a richer understanding of the medium.

Revisit — Early Encounters is curated by Amirali Ghasemi (Parking Video Library, Tehran) and is a response to the invitation by mohit.art to present a program alongside his essay “A Glance at Video as an Artistic Medium in Iran” on the development of early experimental video art from Iran.