This program is presented by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Learn more at cinema.ucla.edu.

A War on Women (2026)

In person: director Raha Shirazi.

In this powerful documentary, director Raha Shirazi tells of the generational struggle of Iranian women to achieve basic human rights, from the suffrage movement under the Shah in the 1960s to the Women, Life, Freedom Movement sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022. While a group of high profile activists speak on camera, including Mahnaz Afkhami, Asieh Amini, Masih Alinejad and Shaparak Shajarzadeh, it’s the anonymous girls and women demonstrating in classrooms, homes, offices and on the streets, as seen in archival news footage and more recent TikTok videos, that are the film’s real focus. As each generation has evolved new strategies to advance the cause, their unwavering commitment to freedom remains an inspiring constant.

DCP. Director: Raha Shirazi. Screenwriters: Samira Mohyeddin, Raha Shirazi.

Visit the Hammer Museum's webpage for more information about the screening, ticketing, and parking.

Sponsor(s): Hammer Museum at UCLA