Forged Yearnings,
8minutes
2025
UK
In Forged Yearnings, 19th century photographs of Iranian Qajar women lie amongst the plants and sculptures of Derek Jarman’s garden, creating surreal scenarios of women from the past in a foreign land. These photographs are some of the only visual historical evidence of a primarily homosocial country which afforded women many spaces of togetherness. They have been kept in many western archives and have become a subject of fascination for the western gaze, as well as the queer Iranian diaspora, often yearning to find traces of queerness in their history. The film questions the concept of ‘queering the past’, and issues that arise when looking for ourselves in history.
Made possible with the kind support of Creative Folkestone.