Documentary film about Iran’s music icon Googoosh: Awakening with politics

In the documentary film “Googoosh – Made of Fire” Niloufar Taghizadeh portrays music icon Googoosh. She became a global star despite being banned from performing for decades.

Googoosh in the armchair Photo: Mindjazz

The first few minutes already give an idea that the story of one of the most important Iranian artists of all time cannot be told without the history of Iran.

Right at the beginning of the documentary “Googoosh – Made of Fire” you can see video footage of Ruhollah Khomeini setting foot on Iranian soil on that fateful day in February 1979 – to make an entire country hostage to his fanatical, Islamist ideology. These recordings are accompanied by one of Googoosh’s most famous pieces: “Talagh”. Accompanied by this proud music, Khomeini appears unspeakably shabby.

The life of singer and actress Googoosh, birth name Faegheh Atashi, is the focus of director Niloufar Taghizadeh’s new film, “Googoosh – Made of Fire”. Googoosh’s life is closely intertwined with the history of Iran and the Islamic Republic, and so the film is not only about the ups and downs of the Iranian music icon’s life, but also about the ups and downs of Iranian history.

Close accompaniment

Taghizadeh accompanied Googoosh closely for her film, including private moments with her granddaughter. The documentation is supported by conversations with Googoosh himself, who looks back authentically and candidly on a long, often painful life as an artist. Even as a child, during the time of the Shah, Googoosh sang on stages and acted in films. The global star has recorded numerous albums, not only in Persian, but also in English, French and Italian. But the now 74-year-old had her greatest connection with her homeland, Iran.

And so Googoosh, who was in the United States at the time of the Islamic Revolution, returned home despite all warnings. The then young woman was first interrogated and arrested; Then, like all women in the country, she was banned from singing and from concerts. For 21 years she was “imprisoned” in this country, in this condition, as she describes it. This decades-long absence did not affect their fame and popularity – their music continued to be heard over the years, in Iran and around the world. Til today.

“Their music is compositionally very well developed,” explains Bahar Roshanai. The studied musician works for the Körber Foundation in Hamburg and is an expert on Iranian sounds. “Googoosh has an unparalleled ability to combine Persian poetry with Western harmonies, which is why their music is so unique, universal and timeless, appealing to all cultures and generations.”

Last the decades

That’s certainly part of the explanation for why Googoosh’s songs have endured for decades. They are still heard today by young Iranians all over the world. Googoosh manages to connect generations with their songs. But there may be another explanation.

“The people who come to my concerts think about all their memories,” says Googoosh in the film. “The memories of the houses they lost, the gardens they walked in, how they fell in love while listening to this music. How they lived with this music, got married, had children.”

She looks into people’s faces at her concerts and sees them crying, even the young ones. They have no answer to the question of why their music also touches young Iranians so much, says Googoosh. You hadn’t experienced Iran yourself before the Islamic Revolution.

Lost homeland

The answer could be that many second, third and fourth generation Iranians grow up listening to Googoosh music in their parents’ homes, no matter where they live in the world. They grow up with stories about the lost houses, the beautiful gardens, with the pain of the lost home. “I was separated from my homeland,” Googoosh says in the film about the moment on the plane when she was allowed to leave Iran after 21 years.

Then she understood that she would never see the country again. Her eyes shine as she says that. And millions of Iranians around the world who have exactly this feeling are crying with her – regardless of whether they have ever been to Iran themselves or not. Googoosh’s music makes this collective pain palpable.

And so it is not surprising how many people stood up for a free Iran and for women, life and freedom in 2022 after the death of Jina Mahsa Amini – including Googoosh himself. As an Iranian, it is almost impossible to be apolitical be. There are only a few people who leave Iran, flee the country, without suffering trauma, in their family, in themselves. In a state where violence is prevalent, every person quickly comes into contact with this violence.

“When we wake up from sleep in the morning, we wake up with politics,” said Googoosh in an interview with filmmaker Taghizadeh. Their songs are not about politics at all; She sings about love, joy, sadness and pain. And so it is probably these basic human emotions that remind us of what connects us.

“Googoosh – Made of Fire” shows a deep insight into the life and soul of the artist of the century. Niloufar Taghizadeh succeeds in putting Googoosh at the center and at the same time drawing a big picture about Iran, about its people, about its heroes.