2010-2014 / Documentary essay, 94 min. / Iran – the Netherlands

“A deep political analysis of one century of revolt and repression in Iran, and the various roles of images in this collective history. ‘The Silent Majority Speaks’ is, for me, one of the works that legitimates the existence of film, as for example ‘The Hour of the Furnaces’.”

Nicole Brenez, French film curator and writer

“An eloquent inquiry into the notion of a collective memory, as well as a vivid and urgent corrective to political amnesia… The film is a feat both of courage and of lucidity, a rare political document that is as clear-eyed about the past as it is the present.”

Dennis Lim, Director, New York Film Festival

“In Iran, the confiscated elections of June 2009 led to large-scale demonstrations, a violent backlash and numerous deaths. Bani Khoshnoudi recuperates, juxtaposes and analyzes images shot on the fly by cheap cameras or telephones, shedding a salubrious light on the 2009 revolt, which kept the film underground for several years. But the 2009 shots are also put into perspective, as The Silent Majority Speaks paints a grand picture made up of archival footage and tells us about a century woven of revolts and endless repression, that still persist to this day. The result of this putting into perspective, this powerful verbal and visual reflection, is an indispensable fresco on Iran in the light of its aspirations to democracy.”

Jocelyne Saab, filmmaker (1948-2019)

Originally made anonymously and briefly released in 2010 when it was shown at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, it was credited to the “Silent Collective”. The film cannot be shown officially in Iran, and even amongst activists it is spoken of in whispers. Bani Khoshnoudi broke that silence and “came out” in 2014 as the author thanks to the support of French scholar and programmer, Nicole Brenez, and others interested in the film.

The Silent Majority Speaks uses archival film material of struggle, revolution, and collective moments of resistance that are set to work with and against newer footage shot by the author during the month of June 2009, as well as mobile phone images gleaned from YouTube. A fascinating treatment of what internet archive can do in the essay film form, the newly-shot footage is also a testament to the anonymous collective resistance of “the majority”.  Bani Khoshnoudi’s probing voice-over balances her own version of history as repetition with the responsibility of being a spokesperson for those who dare not speak. Silence itself becomes a blade with which to cut the images.

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