World cinema on a budget can be exhilarating because of the innovation that’s possible from one frame to another. The editing in Sahand Kabiri‘s The Crowd, for example, is interesting because of its temporal juxtapositions. It shows archive photos of children in what looks like Iranian garb, with audio having them chanting ‘Down with USA’. Within a minute, it lets audiences hear Iranian dance music, giving us a glimpse of the kind of Iran some want to see. It also shows us an empty avenue, eventually leading us to Zennials setting up, organizing a queer rave.

The difference between MENA cinema and Euro-American cinema is that some examples of the former can’t show and say everything. I mean, I’ve read about examples of the former, but otherwise, they can’t openly depict a queer community forced underground. However, as I wrote already, The Crowd innovates, showing a love between men past the erotic and into the domestic. What I’m trying to say here is that a few of the scenes here show guys arguing with each other. But these arguments come from concern, from love, thinking about loss in a country where hiding oneself is the norm.

The Crowd shows the burden of hiding oneself in ways that I hope Western audiences understand, despite my anticipated frustrations. After all, this film is an entry in a festival where viewers want to see everything, eye candy cinema. This film asks us to look deeper as it shows, for instance, a man changing into clothes appropriate for dancing. Listening may be the key to understanding a film where people tell stories about revealing their sexuality to police officers. To express their love through private words, telling each other about spaces they have to fight for just to exist.

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