Film Screening: “Women Without Men”/”Zanan-e bedun-e mardan”
Directed by Shirin Neshat
13 February, 2026, 8:00PM CET
Zeughauskino des DHM Berlin (Pei Building)
Languages: Persian
Run Time: 95 minutes
This viewing has been organized in partnership with the Humboldt University Mosse Lectures, for the Winter 2025/26 lecture series.
Visit https://www.dhm.de/zeughauskino/ for more details.
Lecture Series Description: Our starting point is the observation that the classic coup d’état (as an abrogation of the constitution through rapid, violent action) currently seems to be changing: In Europe and the United States, the classic coup d’état is being replaced by the gradual transformation of the constitution, characterized by its erosion from within and the dynamic breakdown of the rule of law and the separation of powers, driven by elected governments. There will be a historical-systematic lecture on the significance of the coup d’état with regard to the first third of the 20th century, a lecture on coups d’état from a post-colonial perspective taking the example of West Africa, and there will be talks on the media and aesthetic dimension of coups d’état. In addition, we are organizing a film series in cooperation with the Berlin Zeughauskino and with the financial support of the Presidium of Humboldt University, featuring films such as “Woman Without Men” (D/AT/FR 2009, R: Shirin Neshat), “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” (B/FR/NL 2024, R: Johan Grimonprez), “The Sixth” (USA 2024, R: Andrea Nix Fine, Sean Fine) and Nostalgia de la Luz” (Chile/FR/D 2010, Patricio Guzmán).
Description of Film: In Women Without Men, director Shirin Neshat discusses the stories of four Iranian women during the summer of 1953 when a coup d’etat supported by the USA and Britain returned the Shah to power.
