Formerly Youth Square (documentary)
| Formerly Youth Square | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Mina Akbari |
| Produced by | Ehsan Rasoulof, Mina Akbari |
| Written by | Mina Akbari |
| Music by | Ali Samadpour |
| Cinematography | Mohammadreza Jahanpanah |
| Edited by | Sepideh Abtahi |
Release date |
|
Running time | 71 minutes[2] |
| Country | Iran |
| Language | Persian |
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Formerly Youth Square (Persian: میدان جوانان سابق, romanized: Meydane Javanan – Sabegh) is a 2019 Iranian documentary film written and directed by Mina Akbari. The film chronicles the careers and personal journeys of a group of Iranian reformist journalists who worked for the newspaper Jame'e in the 1990s.
The documentary uses an archival photograph taken in 1997 at Tehran’s Javanan Square (Youth Square) as its starting point. The photo features 71 members of the newspaper’s editorial staff, including Akbari herself. The film revisits these individuals two decades later to explore why the vast majority of them left journalism due to political pressures and censorship in Iran.[2] The filmmaker, Akbari, notes that among the original 71 colleagues, only six remain working in the journalism profession today.[1]
Akbari, a prominent journalist who shifted to filmmaking, traces the lives of her former colleagues, many of whom have changed professions completely—becoming a farmer, coffee shop owner, or actor, or having left the country entirely. The documentary uses their individual stories to review the history and challenges of the reformist press in Iran over a twenty-year period. The film's original title is Meydane Javanan – Sabegh (Formerly Youth Square).[2]
Production
The film was directed and written by Mina Akbari, a journalist who had worked for several influential but often-banned Iranian reformist newspapers, including Jame'e, Toos, and Etemad. The documentary was produced by Ehsan Rasoulof, with editing by Sepideh Abtahi and music by Ali Samadpour.[2]
Release and reception
Formerly Youth Square premiered in 2019 and was screened at several international film festivals. It has been noted for its candid look at media freedom and political change in Iran, and received several awards:
- In 2020, it won the **Best Film** award at the Cinema d'IDEA Festival.[3]
- It also won the **Best Film** award at the Hong Kong International Documentary Film Festival in 2020.[3]
The film has also been screened at festivals including the Iranian Film Festival Zurich[1] and the Sole Luna Doc Film Festival in Palermo, Italy.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "(Formerly) Youth Square - Iranian Film Festival Zurich". Iranian Film Festival Zurich. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
Mina Akbari, a reformer Iranian journalist, decides to look for her other colleagues who were gathered in a picture frame 20 years ago. These journalists were all reformists who tried so hard in order to use the media power for some positive change in Iranians situation. ... Country and Year of Production: Iran, 2019.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Formerly Youth Square (Meydane Javanan – Sabegh)". Iranian Film Festival in Köln. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
The journalist and filmmaker Mina Akbari looks at an old photograph showing seventy former members of the editorial staff of the newspaper “Jame'e”, taken at what was then “Youth Square”. In 1997, the reform movement under President Khatami was on the rise... over twenty years later, only six are still working in their old profession.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Akbari, Mina. "Mina Akbari - Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin Jahrbuch 2023/2024" (PDF). Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
Notably, “Women of the Revolution” (2022) explores the roles and challenges faced by women in social movements, while “Formerly Youth Square” (2017) critically examines the Iranian reformist press over the past twenty years. “Formerly Youth Square” has won several awards, including Best Film at the Cinema d'IDEA and the Hong Kong International Documentary Film Festival in 2020.
- ↑ Barone, Antonio (5 July 2023). "L'Iran in 'Piazza giovane'. Palermo e il Sole Luna Doc Film Festival". Taxidrivers.it (in italiano). Retrieved 3 December 2025.
Oltre a Formerly youth square di Mina Akbari (Iran 2023, 68) sulla fine della stagione riformista in Iran... (In addition to Formerly youth square by Mina Akbari (Iran 2023, 68) on the end of the reformist season in Iran... )
Category:2019 documentary films
Category:Iranian documentary films
Category:Films about journalism
Category:Films directed by Iranian women
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