”Radiograph of a Family” with Firouzeh Khosrovani

Firouzeh Khosrovani’s “Radiograph of a Family” is among the rarest of documentaries. Like a perfectly composed classical symphony, the film’s form and content effortlessly complement each other. The result is a film that is both beautifully symmetrical and dynamically creative. Seamlessly moving between the personal and the political, Firouzeh employs the full range of storytelling tools--from re-enactments and staged dialogue, to family photographs and archival footage--to portray how the 1979 Iranian Revolution upended her parents’ marriage and caused a surprising role reversal in the fortunes of her mother and father.

Mike had the opportunity to talk in-depth with Firouzeh about her stunning film, winner of the top prize at the 2020 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). How did the Iranian Revolution disrupt the family dynamic and almost literally cut the family’s Tehran home in half? What was it like for Firouzeh to be caught between “two lifestyles, two ideologies and two realities”? Did her mother really marry a photograph? And, Firouzeh answers the biggest question of all: how can love endure when everything else seems to be coming apart?