I saw a very interesting movie with my friend Nora last night. It was called Sounds of Silence and was presented by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, one of my favorite organizations. The film-maker is of Iranian background, but grew up in Europe and was covering the censorship and repression felt by non-traditional musicians in Iran. He interviewed hip-hop, rock and pop artists as well as a journalist who had organized an underground, on-line only music festival.
Because of the limitations placed on the lyrics, music, and appearance of the artists by Ershad, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, the musicians told stories of shows cancelled and of not being able to record and publish their music. Many of them spoke of distributing their music via the web. Generally, they couldn't sell their music and make money from it, but at least it was being heard by audiences larger than what could fit in the living room.
Amir Hamz, the filmmaker, mentioned he'd been talking to CNN and also had a distributor signed on, so keep your eyes open for it.
If you want to get an idea of what Iran is really like at the moment I really recommend "We Are Iran" by Nasrin Alavi - it is collection of excerpts from Iranian blogs... I went to Iran last year and it really chimed with what people I spoke to were telling me about every day life in Iran at the moment.
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