Iran. Following the 1979 revolution, cinemas are devastatingly shut down and the act of watching or owning film prints is an illegal enterprise.
Keeping the flame of film exhibition and preservation alive is the late Ahmad Jorghanian, a radical collector of over 5,000 precious 35mm prints. Forming a transformative bond of cinematic kinship with the documentary’s director Ehsan Khoshbakht, who seeks to screen films at University, Celluloid Underground recounts their deeply personal journeys, risking their very freedom for the sake of film.
This poetic, dexterous film draws upon a wealth of illuminating archival footage, and manifests Khoshbakht’s intense and multifaceted relationship to cinema, inspiring us to reflect on our own trajectories.