Unveiled Traditions

Unveiled Traditions draws from Lili Yas Tayefi's childhood memories of visiting Iran, capturing dichotomies between the inside and outside of the home and the country. The story unfolds with the chador (a traditional Muslim garment), symbolizing the separate lives people lead. It slowly loses its meaning behind the closed doors of a nonconforming home, underpinning 44 years of daily protest and the Women Life Freedom movement.

  • Lili Yas Tayefi
    Director
  • Lili Yas Tayefi
    Producer
  • Lili Yas Tayefi
    Writer
  • Vince Raquel
    Director of Photography
  • Asim Overstands
    Director of Photography
  • Lili Yas Tayefi
    Key Cast
  • Sepand Asefi
    Key Cast
  • Kimia Koochakzadeh
    Sound Composition
  • Tina Amini
    Set Design
  • Kyla Zeniuk
    Production Assistant
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Art, Social Issues, short
  • Runtime:
    1 minute 48 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 21, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    1,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • F is for Fem (Exhibition)
    Calgary
    Canada
    June 23, 2023
Director Biography - Lili Yas Tayefi

Lili Yas Tayefi is an Iranian-born, Calgary-based multidisciplinary artist and designer. Her independent art practice, LYT Studio, extends from traditionally hand made and 3D printed contemporary ceramics, to painting and filmmaking. Lili’s works have been exhibited in spaces such as Contemporary Calgary, Caroun Art Gallery and The Alma Mater Society Art Gallery (Vancouver), and Real Circulo Artstico Barcelona and Corretger 5 (Barcelona). A proponent for education and innovation, she is also an instructor at the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape (SAPL) and the Alberta University of the Arts. Lili’s art is embedded with duality, inviting an exploration of identity, intersectional feminism and intergenerational healing from a diasporic perspective.

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Director Statement

Summers in Iran host some of my fondest memories of visiting home and being with loved ones – a sentiment my family and I often felt starved for as immigrants. I have a beautiful memory of my auntie and her late husband hosting us in the city of Ahvaz, where I witnessed a member of my family fashion a chador for the first and only time. Through the examination of this common household textile, Unveiled Traditions became a source of expression for the reality I have often felt exhausted to contextualize within the diaspora. My hope is that this project fuels collective dialogue about Iran and the Women Life Freedom movement.