Never Seen It Film Club Presents: Persepolis

How does a child make sense of a world that changes its rules overnight?, Accidental’s Never Seen It Film Club invites you to a special screening of Persepolis (2007). This Academy Award-nominated masterpiece is not just a film about a distant revolution; it is a profound exploration of how we maintain our humanity, humour, and identity when caught in the gears of history.

Based on Marjane Satrapi’s world-renowned autobiographical graphic novels, Persepolis follows ‘Marji’ from her childhood in Tehran to her exiled youth in Europe. We meet her as a precocious nine-year-old who loves Bruce Lee and Iron Maiden, living through the 1979 Iranian Revolution. As the Shah’s regime falls, it is replaced by an Islamic Republic that imposes strict social codes, turning Marji’s world into a place where a denim jacket or a punk rock cassette becomes an act of dangerous political defiance.

Satrapi’s story isn’t told through the dry lens of a history textbook, but through the eyes of a girl trying to figure out where she fits. It captures the ‘craziness’ of living through a period where neighbours turn into informants and the music you love becomes contraband. By using a stark, high-contrast black-and-white animation style, the film strips away the distractions of traditional cinema to focus on the emotional core of the experience: the confusion, the fear, and the irrepressible urge to speak one’s mind.

The choice of animation is pivotal. Live-action films about revolution often lean into spectacle, but Persepolis uses its aesthetic to bridge the gap between the personal and the political. It allows the audience to step into Marji’s internal world, her dreams, her conversations with God, and her moments of deep isolation. It proves that animation is an underused, sophisticated tool we have for documenting history, as it visualises the feeling of a memory rather than just the facts.

Following the screening, we invite you to stay for an informal, welcoming discussion. In the spirit of Imagine! Belfast, we won’t just talk about film techniques – we will dive into the ideals at the heart of the story. We will discuss:

• Resistance and Resilience: How do individuals push back against authoritarianism in their daily lives?
• The Immigrant Experience: What happens to our identity when we are forced to leave our “home” to find “freedom”?
• The Power of Memoir: Why is it important to tell our own stories in a world that often tries to write them for us?

Whether you are a seasoned political activist, a lover of graphic novels or someone who simply enjoys a great story, this event is for you. Join us to discover why Persepolis remains one of the most vital films of the 21st century.

Age 12+.