Saturday, May 16 at 4:00pm: Join MSPIFF, Coup 53 director Taghi Amirani and Editor/Writer Walter Murch for a live Q&A and conversation about the film and to take your questions.
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Director Biography
Born in Iran in 1960, Taghi Amirani grew up under the Shah until he went to England for his schooling. He studied physics at the University of Nottingham, and there directed his first documentary, “Shades of Black” a short film about black holes. From there he studied filmmaking at the University of Bristol and has directed numerous episodes of television series and documentaries. Coup 53 is his first feature documentary.
About the film
WATCH MOVIE
Celebrated documentarian Taghi Amirani turns his camera to the summer of 1953, when Britain and the United States participated in a coup d'etat, overthrowing the democratically elected leader of Iran, Prime Minister Mohammad Mossaddegh, and installing the despotic Shah of Iran.
Ten years in the making, and relying on recently released documents from the CIA, Coup 53 is Amirani’s passionate and incendiary examination of one of the greatest crimes in history. Alarmed at Mossaddegh's move to nationalize Iran’s oil industry (and thus kicking out British Petroleum), the CIA and MI6 removed him with force, and ushered in over two decades of abusive rule by the Shah. In 1979, the Shah was overthrown and the Islamic Republic of Iran was created under Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. A “deeply researched” film (The Hollywood Reporter) that is also profoundly personal for Amirani who has been living in exile in England since 1975.
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