Directed by Ehsan Khoshbakht • Documentary • 2023 • 80 minutes
Celluloid Underground is an autobiographical feature-length documentary by Iranian filmmaker, writer and curator Ehsan Khoshbakht, about his experience of growing up in Iran after the 1979 revolution, when his love of cinema became the catalyst for his rebellion against the Islamic regime.
It’s the story of his friendship with the mysterious Ahmad, a maverick film collector who hid thousands of banned 35mm prints and posters in basements in downtown Tehran, to save them from the fundamentalist fanatics. Born just after the revolution, Ehsan grew up obsessed with all the movies he wasn’t allowed to see. He became Ahmad’s closest collaborator in the underground cinematheque, before escaping to a new life in London.
In Celluloid Underground, Ehsan celebrates the power of cinema to resist tyranny, and the unsung heroism of the friend who changed his life. From the pain of his exile, he questions whether their shared obsession was worth the price they each paid for it.
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