The Iranian director has been in and out of prison, makes films with iPhones, has smuggled one of his movies out of the country on a thumb drive inside a cake, and never relents on his chin-out stance toward the state.

The new generation of Iranians is seeking democracy and separation of religion and state. 

“The social success of the Shah in the galaxy of international despots is the end result of a careful campaign, premised on two vital ingredients: snobbery and cash”