The Relation of the Cinema to Religion and National Identity:A Critical Approach to Morteza Avini's Reflections on Cinema

Studying the nature of cinema in the European-American cultural sphere is decades old. In Iran, the majority of theoretical discussions in this area have been either translation or imitation of Western ideas and opinions. Since the advent of cinema in Iran until now, reflection on the nature of cinema (especially concerning the Iranian and Islamic identity) as propounded by Morteza Avini was without precedent. The extraordinary themes presented by him quickly attracted the attention of the experts in the field. In recent decades, the issue of national cinema has been transformed into an important topic. It's important to reappraise the ideas of Seyyed Morteza Avini since he had a different approach to the national and religious cinema. He tried to redefine the nature of cinema and concepts like the national cinema and its relation to religion from the perspective of a thoughtful Iranian filmmaker. As the director and producer of one of the most important documentary film series after the Islamic Revolution, Avini tried to formulate a theory on cinema which born out of the intellectual foundations of the Islamic Revolution. His attempts resulted in a three-volume book under the title of “Magic mirror” (Ayene ye Jadoo). He also took efforts from an essentialist perspective to redefine the nature of cinema as a technology arisen from the western culture. Despite his privileged and high status as a promising and revolutionary artist in recent decades of Iranian art and cinema, so far no comprehensive research and critical analysis has been done about his opinions and thoughts from the perspective of the theory and film studies. In the years following Avini’s martyrdom, some people and organizations tried to shape his thoughts into their desired molds, preventing further analysis of various aspects of his work during different periods of his short life. The authors believe that the only way to keep a thinker’s heritage from stagnation or freezing into stereotypes is serious critical review and discussion.By suggesting the possibility of capturing the essence and transcending the Western identity of cinema, Avini intended to discover new cinematic potential to express religious concerns. The authors believe that Avini’s thought is as yet an undiscovered territory abundant with speculative resources that may be scrutinized consistent with new approaches in the field of film study. Critical reconsideration of the work of pioneer thinkers like him will open a new horizon before the eyes of the local theoreticians of cinema.The present study by applying a descriptive/analytical method, tries to uncover some of the neglected aspects and capacities in Avini’s thought. At the same time, it elucidates certain shortcomings in his approach from a critical viewpoint.