The 7th Persian Film Festival presented some of the greatest, most courageous and artistic works by Persian-speaking filmmakers from across the globe to Sydney and Melbourne.

In the aftermath of the Iranian revolution of 1979, the film industry was subjected to a process of purification. For almost four decades, explicit treatment of sex and sensuality has been forbidden from Iranian films. This has greatly affected the ways that intimate relationships are represented, with men and women forbidden from touching, and sensuality couched in abstract, poetic terms. However, in recent years, more filmmakers have tested the boundaries of Iranian censorship and have dared to allude more explicitly to sexual relations. This panel will discuss how contemporary Iranian filmmakers working both in Iran and the diasporas deal with this topic.