Tehran, An Unfinished History reconstructs Tehran’s socio-political history from 1900, when cinematography was first introduced, to the present day, drawing on rare archival footage held by the National Film Archive of Iran. From some 150 films, the filmmakers have selected over 180 clips, weaving them into a richly layered portrait of a city—and a country—in turbulent transformation.

The film allows us to witness Iran’s passage from traditional ways of life to an increasingly Westernized modernity, and the subsequent collapse of that world through ideological revolution—out of which the Iranian diaspora would come to take shape.